Giants head coach Adam Kingsley believes his side are โunder no illusionsโ ahead of their matchup against Melbourne
Describing Melbourne as โone of the top sides in the competition,โ Kingsley said his players will have to โplay our best to compete with them.โ
With Melbourne unleashing six debutants on Sunday, Kingsley said his players should be ready for an โenergeticโ and โenthusiasticโ side not too dissimilar to the performances of Richmond's debutantes in their victory over Carlton.
"Combine that [enthusiasm] with some absolute stars of the competition particularly in their midfield and their ruckman, It's a super dangerous game we know that," he said.
Superstar Tom Green will make his 2025 debut against Melbourne, with the midfielder missing the Giants' Opening Round game due to a calf injury.
Kingsley said Green trained well throughout the week, with his ability to gather first-possessions around the stoppages and his creativity by hand important factors to his selection.
โHe's a really good player for us - and has been for a while now,โ said Kingsley
โIt's a great position to be in that we can add a player such as him on the back of such a strong performance last week.โ
Coming off their brilliant 52-point victory over Collingwood in Opening Round, the Giants will look to make it 2-0 on Sunday at the MCG, a ground where they have historically struggled. Since their inception in 2012, the Giants have won just 32% of their games at the 'G.
Kingsley also commented on his sideline stoush with Collingwood head coach Craig McRae, with the Giants coach laughing off any suggestions of lingering tension between the two.
โIt's all good - we're good mates so a little bit of back and forth is fine,โ said Kingsley
โThere was no abuse in it, nothing that he needed to answer - we move on pretty quickly.โ
