GWS GIANTS v Tuggeranong

The Greater Western Sydney GIANTS take on Tuggeranong at 2pm Saturday April 16, in their first home game of the 2011 season. The GIANTS are currently third on the NEAFL ladder after an impressive 41-point victory over Ainslie last week.

GIANTS reporter Beck Mills caught up with West Australian Simon Tunbridge to find out how he was feeling after kicking three goals on the weekend and what the GIANTS were focusing on heading in to Saturday’s game.

So Simon, kicking three goals for the GIANTS must have been pretty exciting?

Yeah it was pretty exciting I suppose. The first goal was great but I wasn’t expecting to kick three so that was pretty special for me.

How did you rate Ainslie’s defence?

Ainslie’s defence was good; they are pretty vocal and try to get in your ear a fair bit. You just ignore those things and have to carry on with your own game.

You copped a bit of flack from the crowd about your physicality on the weekend, how do you deal with that?

To be honest, you’re concentrating so hard on what’s happening on the field that you don’t really pay too much attention to what’s happening in the crowd. Country footy is pretty competitive, everyone gets very stuck in to everybody else so I’m pretty used to that.

Is the NEAFL similar to footy back home?

Some aspects of it are similar I suppose but country footy is a lot slower and they are a lot more relaxed with their game style. This league is a lot more fun because the speed and skill means that you can really test yourself.

What did the coaches say to you at half time after a really solid first half?

The coaches told us to keep the intensity up. In a few of our other games we lost a lot of momentum after the first half so they were just urging us to keep our heads up and keep pushing through in the second half. We were able to do that against Ainslie and ended up with a really good win.

There has been a lot of talk about Izzy’s tackle this week. Was that something that really gave the team a lift, seeing the big man lay a crunching tackle?

Yeah it did, he’d laid a similar one during the week on Adam Flagg at training so to see him do it in a game was fantastic.

Who else were you impressed with on the weekend?

Probably Stephen Clifton, he had a set shot at goal from 55 meters out and when he realised that it wasn’t going to make the distance, he sprinted up to the contest, picked up the crumbs and kicked a goal. That’s the kind of play that we want to set as a team standard.

How is the side feeling coming into this weekend’s match after a great win for the team and a solid performance by a number of players?

There has been a really good vibe around the club this week so hopefully we can carry that into next week. I was pretty sore on Sunday but I’m feeling great again now and can’t wait to go out and play another game on Saturday.

What are the team tactics going in to this weekend?

Just to stick to our team structures and try to build on it for this week. On the weekend I’ll be working through the middle of the ground and up into the forward line so hopefully I can set up a few goals so we can have another solid win. 

GWS GIANTS V Tuggeranong 

Saturday April 16
Blacktown Olympic Park
Eastern Rd, Rooty Hill
Gates open 11:45am, game starts 2pm

The GIANTS Junior Fan Club launches this weekend

What’s on?

•    Junior Fan Club Clinic with GIANTS players
•    Free sausage sizzle
•    Face painting
•    GIANT Inflatable Fan Zone

PLUS every Junior GIANT will get a free GIANTS autograph card

REGISTER FOR FREE ENTRY AND CLINIC
 as a GIANTS Junior Fan Club member, you and your family get FREE entry to this weekend’s match. 


To register Click here.


If you have any queries please contact Andrea Bryce on (02) 9834 8000