GWS senior assistant coach Matthew Nicks says Lachlan Keeffe’s versatility was behind his call-up to replace Toby Greene for Saturday’s AFL preliminary final against Collingwood.
Keeffe replaced the suspended Greene in GWS’ team, with Nicks citing the former Magpie’s ability to play back, forward or ruck.
“You’re talking about a player who can come in and play any role for us, he’s versatile – he can play forward, he can play back, he can pinch-hit in the ruck if need be,” Nicks told reporters on Friday.
“So depending on what the conditions are, we’ll back Lachie Keeffe in to do a certain role for us and that may change.
“And that’s probably the other strength that he has, is he’s able to come in and we can shuffle him around a little bit and it won’t affect his game.
“He’ll stand up for us, whether he starts forward or back, we’ll just have to wait and see.”
Nicks said the Giants would be monitoring the weather leading up to Saturday’s game but were happy with their changes.
“Bobby Hill’s come in as a small forward into that forward line so we feel like we’ve got some really good speed forward of the ball and some pressure in there,” he said.
“Keeffe comes in as a player … who’s very versatile, can play a multiple amount of roles for us. So we don’t have concerns over what the weather will be, we’d like to say we’ll go in with the 22 we’ve picked.”
With Lachie Whitfield (appendicitis) also unavailable, Nicks flagged Zac Williams as a potential midfield option.
Nicks also expected ruckman Shane Mumford to lift against Collingwood’s Brodie Grundy, after he was well beaten by Brisbane’s Stefan Martin.
“Expectations are he’s a reasonably experienced ruckman who again loves a big stage, we have no doubt,” Nicks said.
“He’s been sore throughout the year – there’s no hiding from that.
“But I’m sure he’ll lift for a prelim final and give it everything he’s got.”
Nicks said he expected the Giants to play “angry” against Collingwood after two aggressive finals performances.
“I think most of us are angry but you’ve got to be angry – if you call it angry – or on the edge to play finals footy,” he said.
“If you don’t, you get criticised for not being ready. If you do, obviously there’s people questioning how you’re going about it.”
