In between his university studies and looking after his newborn son, GWS Giants star and former number one pick Lachie Whitfield has a huge game to prepare for.
This Saturday evening in front of a packed house at ENGIE Stadium, Whitfield and the Giants will be looking to keep their season alive when they go head-to-head with the Sydney Swans in the latest instalment of the Sydney Derby.
Sitting in second position heading into this weekend’s match, the Swans will play Finals football this year while the Giants are once again fighting for a place in the post-season.
This year things are a little bit different with 10 teams in the running for a spot in the playoffs thanks to a massive change to the AFL Finals format.
The AFL Finals series now includes an expanded format with a Wildcard Finals Round. Instead of a pre-Finals bye, teams finishing 7th to 10th play off for the final two spots in the traditional top eight bracket, while the top six teams receive a week off.
The new format gives teams, like the 11th-placed Giants, something to play for over the last five weeks of the regular season.
Speaking with Parra News on Wednesday, Whitfield said he’s a big fan of the Wildcard Finals Round for a number of reasons.
“Firstly, I think it fills the void of the Finals bye… more footy for the spectators to watch is ultimately going to be a better thing for the sport,” he said.
“I also didn’t mind the idea of the new format at the start of the season and now, considering our position on the ladder, I love the idea of it!”
The Giants will go into Saturday clash at home as underdogs, however like with any sporting derby, form and ladder position often goes out the window.
Whitfield has played 27 games against the Swans during his 14-year career, with the 32-year-old pumped to play them once again.
“During Sydney Derby week there’s a lot more local eyes that are on us, more media, more interviews but it’s the same every time we play the Swans – it’s hard contested games that are usually pretty close,” Whitfield said.
“I know they beat us convincingly earlier in the year, but I feel like we’re poised to play a really good game and challenge them. They are doing well this year and are up the top of the ladder, but if we can play Giants brand of footy, we can challenge them really well.”
The Giants will be eager to bounce back against the Swans after their shock defeat to the last-placed Essendon Bombers at Marvel Stadium on Sunday.
It was just Essendon’s second win of the year, with the Giants going down in a low scoring affair 67-64.
“The loss didn’t feel great,” Whitfield admitted.
“We didn’t take them lightly. We spoke about the possibility of them playing their best footy and us going into the game not at our best and it’ll be a close game and that’s exactly what happened. We didn’t perform in a lot of key areas, and they played well and the result speaks for itself.”
The Giants take on the Swans at ENGIE Stadium this Saturday at 4.35pm.
Nathan Taylor is Parra News' sports journalist. He also compiles the weekly Chatter on the Box TV column. Nathan is an award-winning journalist, who has worked in western Sydney media for more than a decade.