Saturday’s AFL 2018 Round 14 match is between Brisbane Lions and Greater Western Sydney Giants. The opening kick is set to commence at 16:35 local time with the game to be played at Gabba. The away team Greater Western Sydney Giants are the favourites for the match. View our preview and teams for the game between Brisbane Lions and Greater Western Sydney Giants.
When: 16:35 | Saturday 23/06/2018
Where: Gabba
Preview:
Brisbane’s Harris Andrews has been a star this year and is in the All Australian conversation.
He’ll have a big job against Jeremy Cameron from the Giants.
Cameron was terrific last week and has always been a dangerous forward for GWS.
He’s even more important in the absence of Toby Greene due to injury.
KEY BATTLE: Harris Andrews v Jeremy Cameron
I like Andrews as he always puts his hand up for the big jobs.
None come much bigger than Cameron this week.
The Verdict
The Giants have found form and will easily account for the struggling Lions.
GWS have a 14-6-1 (66.7 percent) W/L/D record playing interstate after a win since 2016.
Unibet Odds:
Brisbane at $3.65
GWS at $1.30
Odds:
Tip: Greater Western Sydney Giants at $1.30
Value Bet: First Goal Scorer: Jonathon Patton at $10.00
More Info:
Teams:
Brisbane Lions: 
B Luke Hodge, Harris Andrews, Darcy Gardiner
HB Daniel Rich, Tom Cutler, Alex Witherden
C Lewis Taylor, Ryan Lester, Dayne Zorko
HF Cameron Rayner, Josh Walker, Hugh McCluggage
F Allen Christensen, Eric Hipwood, Zac Bailey
FOL Stefan Martin, Jarrod Berry, Dayne Beams
I/C Nick Robertson, Sam Mayes, Rhys Mathieson, Oscar McInerney
EMG Ben Keays, Ryan Bastinac, Brandon Starcevich, Jack Frost
IN: Josh Walker, Rhys Mathieson
OUT: Ben Keays (omitted), Daniel McStay (injured)
Greater Western Sydney Giants: 
B Aidan Corr, Sam Taylor, Adam Tomlinson
HB Nick Haynes, Phil Davis, Heath Shaw
C Ryan Griffen, Callan Ward, Sam J. Reid
HF Matt de Boer, Jeremy Cameron, Stephen Coniglio
F Jacob Hopper, Jonathon Patton, Dylan Shiel
FOL Dawson Simpson, Tim Taranto, Josh Kelly
I/C Lachie Whitfield, Zac Langdon, Harry Himmelberg, Jeremy Finlayson
EMG Aiden Bonar, Brent Daniels, Lachlan Keeffe, Harry Perryman
IN: Stephen Coniglio, Dawson Simpson, Jeremy Finlayson
OUT: Harry Perryman (omitted), Rory Lobb (injured), Daniel Lloyd (injured)
AFL News:
Greater Western Sydney coach Leon Cameron admits there’s no way to avoid losing some rhythm because of the AFL bye.
The upside for Cameron is Brisbane, who the Giants tackle at the Gabba on Saturday, are also coming off their mid-season break.
Hawthorn defeated Adelaide last Saturday night, becoming the first team to win this year after a bye.
The week off provides players a chance to switch off mentally and refresh physically, but it arguably came at a particularly poor time for GWS given the expansion club’s momentum.
The Giants had snapped a four-match losing streak with a gutsy away win over Adelaide then thumped Gold Coast by a record 108 points, demonstrating exactly the sort of consistency that Cameron craved in May.
“The challenge is, like for every other club that has a bye, picking yourselves up after having a rest,” Cameron told reporters.
“Because you do lose a little bit of rhythm.
“It’s a huge challenge.
“Brisbane won their first game after the bye last year by 12 goals, so clearly they did it really really well – and we did it well last year.
“We can’t afford to have any mistakes. We sit outside the eight and we’ve got to continue to play some really good, hard footy to catch the frontrunners.”
Midfielder Jacob Hopper is among the GWS players who wish they didn’t have last weekend off.
Hopper’s career-best form has come after two injury-riddled seasons, during which he spent time on the sidelines because of heart surgery plus finger, back and ankle setbacks.
“I was probably keen to keep going. Being injured the last two years, it’s good to be playing some footy,” Hopper said.
“The sort of footy we are playing, we all kind of wanted to keep going.
“But it was our turn for the bye. It was a good opportunity to put the feet up, refresh and really plan for the second half of the season.”
The Giants, floated as premiership favourites by some pundits during the off-season after reaching preliminary finals in 2016 and 2017, are currently 10th on the ladder.
“We can’t just expect to play finals footy. It’s something we’re going to have to work really hard for,” Hopper said.
“We had a pretty disappointing month (in May) … hopefully we can keep getting better and better.”
