Every great game of football has a number of storylines running in the background. From the individual battles to the team rivalries. Each great encounter breaks down into a million tiny battles.
To start season 2026, the Giants host the Hawks for the first time since last year’s Elimination Final. More stories coming into this game include the story of the Giants’ off-season, which has been plagued by injuries, and a Hawthorn off-season where they missed out on their number one target.
So what will the story be in the latest chapter in this game between the Hawks and the Giants?
David vs The Giants
It’s not often that the Hawks are up against it. However, the first quarter saw Hawthorn face off against literal Giants, in Hogan and Stringer, but also some favourable calls that fell the Giants’ way. The Giants got the first shot at goal through a fortuitous free kick to Jake Stringer in the pocket, and then slotted the first goal after a 50-metre penalty took a set-up shot into a shot at goal.
This didn’t faze the Hawks, who fired back through their smaller players in Nick Watson and Jack Ginnivan. The Hawks’ two smallest players emulating the David-versus-Goliath nature of the encounter. Not all the Hawks were undersized, as the Hawks’ ruckman Lloyd Meek put the Hawks in front.
After a sluggish start between the two sides, the game opened later with the Giants establishing a commanding lead, kicking five goals in a row. At the end of the first quarter, it was the Giants, against the storyline and the odds, who held a lead largely due to their key forwards Jesse Hogan and Jake Stringer, who ended with eight goals between them.
Given how strong the Hawks’ team defence has been in the last few years, the Giants were able to find space and piled on eight goals in the first quarter, putting them on track to record a score of 200+, which will always be a winning score.
Unless your defence really sucks, I suppose.
The Hawks’ defensive issues continued during the game, conceding another five goals in each of the second and third quarters.
Mitchell’s Gambit
In the off-season, Hawthorn and Sam Mitchell made several moves that could potentially prove costly. Firstly, the Hawks made a high-profile chase of Essendon captain Zach Merrett. At the end of the trade period, Merrett remained at Essendon and the Hawks were forced to say that they weren’t willing to pay the price that the Bombers were asking of them to access their captain.
Another of Mitchell’s gambits was the public admission that he was using Artificial Intelligence to coach his side and initiate conversations with his players. This resulted in a series of memes and jokes talking about how Mitchell, like a terrible university student, was going to outsource his entire game plan to the popular AI platform, ChatGPT.
Mitchell’s and Hawthorn’s first gambit of not bringing in Merrett after spending a considerable amount of time wooing the veteran midfielder seemed to backfire in this game, as the Hawks got soundly beaten through the middle.
For the second gambit, it seems like Mitchell’s AI plans have also failed to fire, as the new plans turned the Hawks, who had the third-stingiest defence last season, into a sieve. Mitchell’s supposedly intelligent plan allowed the Giants to find players completely alone at times during the game. Again, time will tell as to whether or not the use of AI pays off in the long run, but for the moment, Hawks fans are probably looking for ChatGPT to be fired from the coaching panel.
Kingsley’s Press
While Sam Mitchell has been doing his best impression of a computer nerd, his Greater Western Sydney counterpart has been spending his time at the gym. A video of the Giants coach surfaced, seeing him bench pressing 120 or 130 Kilograms during one of the team’s gym sessions. The impressive feat, reportedly done with no warm-up, and it clearly laid the groundwork for how Kingsley wanted his team to play.
Well, not exactly. Despite missing several key players through injury, the Giants literally “pressed” the Hawks into submission. It wasn’t just the tackle count, which the Giants led, despite having more of the ball, but just the way they were able to pressure the Hawthorn ball carriers as they tried to move the ball forward.
This all led to Hawthorn players making uncharacteristic errors, resulting in plenty of clangers and turnovers, which helped the Giants score freely.
The Future… Now
One of the highlights of the game saw second-year man, Joe Fonti, or ‘The Font’, responsible for minding Hawks’ livewire, Nick Watson.
The Wizard is the type to make things happen, and he was on-song in this one, looking dangerous around the fall of the ball. However, Fonti was no slouch, looking composed and making good decisions when he got his hands on the footy.
Watson ended up with two snags from 17 touches, but Fonti managed to collect 22 disposals and 11 intercepts, as two very different players worked to their strengths, and made an impact.
The Last Chance Players
If you were to name the best for the Giants, the names Clayton Oliver and Jake Stringer would have to feature heavily.
Oliver looked clean in the contest, and went on to collect 26 touches, with 19 contested possessions. Unlike the previous two seasons with the Dees, he looked really invested, and threw himself into every contest. As for Stringer, he looks fit, and when I say that, it should carry some weight, because there have been plenty of times when the only person carrying weight is Jake, himself.
Not this season. He looks in great shape, and as tends to happen when he does, the results seem to follow. A Stringer that can hit the scoreboard is a weapon many thought the Giants may not get.
Sorry to disappoint – they have him, and he was fantastic in this one.
One Quick Highlight
I don’t know about you, but there are times I watch footy, and a player misses a simple five-metre handball. It frustrates the hell out of me, because it is a fundamental aspect of the game.
And then there are times when you see one of the elite players execute a skill so perfectly that it leaves you nodding your head.
Toby Greene is one of those players, and his handball, whilst off-balance and on the deck, at the end of the second term, was a ripper to set up the final goal of the half for Jake Riccardi was a thing of beauty. I urge you to have a look, watch how he controls himself and makes sure he hits the target, and sets up his teammate. Sadly, not many can do that anymore, but Toby is something special. Always has been.
Conclusion
Many things came out of this game that will have repercussions for the rest of the season. The Giants overcoming the odds without some of their major stars, and the Hawks failing to win a game that many would have pencilled them in to win are certainly two big points to take away from the game.
It is important to note that last year, Greater Western Sydney trounced Collingwood in the Opening round and finished the season just outside the top 4 on percentage. Their opponents, Collingwood, finished the season ahead of the Giants on percentage alone. Could history repeat itself with the Giants?
On the flip side, Hawthorn won their Opening Round game last year. The Hawks carried their winning momentum until Gather Round, when they lost to Port Adelaide. Despite their hot start to the season, spent the majority of the home and away season hovering around the top 4, but never seemingly able to break into the double chance spot. Will this early loss dampen the Hawk’s chances of another run late into September, or is this just merely a bump on the road?
