No Sam Taylor, no worries: Giants bullish ahead of AFL derby with Sydney Swans
GWS have won games without star defender Sam Taylor before and believe they can do it again when they line up against AFL rivals Sydney.
Taylor has been ruled out indefinitely after undergoing surgery on a ruptured testicle ahead of their local derby on Saturday, but assistant coach Ben Hart remains bullish about the Giants’ chances against the league leaders.
It’s far from the first time the Giants have been without their defensive stalwart.
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A box-office match-up between Taylor and in-form Sydney forward Joel Amartey was on the cards, but Hart is confident the remaining Giants defenders will keep the Swan from repeating last weekend’s nine-goal heroics.
Amartey booted 9.1 in the Swans’ come-from-behind win against Adelaide last Saturday, kicking the biggest haul by a Sydney player since Lance Franklin managed 10 against Carlton in 2017.
“He (Taylor) is doing really well and we wish him all the best and a speedy recovery, but we also feel like we’ve got the players to cover what we need there,” Hart said on Thursday.
“Derbies are huge no matter when you play them and no matter who they’re with, and they’re always a 50-50 contest.
“It’s a shame not to have Sam there, but we’ve shown before that we can perform well.”
A timeline for his return will be set once he sees a specialist, with Hart suggesting possibly seven to 15 days.
Taylor suffered the injury during last week’s 22-point win over Port Adelaide.
The task of limiting Amartey will most likely be handed to Jack Buckley or Leek Aleer, with the return of medium defender Lachie Ash (calf) from injury a welcome boost.
Influential midfielder Stephen Coniglio (shoulder) could also return, but will need to get through training.
Giants coach Adam Kingsley was absent from Thursday training because of illness, but Hart insists their main man will be in the box for Saturday’s match.
“He’s just been a bit crook the last couple of days. He should be fine for the weekend,” Hart said.
“It doesn’t affect the prep, which is really good. We go about it as we normally would.
“The assistant coaches take a fair lead in this time of the week anyway.”
