A pivotal top eight shaping clash awaits on Saturday afternoon, as Geelong heads to Sydney for a clash with the GWS Giants at ENGIE Stadium. 

As it currently stands, third position down to ninth on the ladder are all separated by one game, the Cats and Giants both part of that logjam with seven rounds remaining in the home and away season. 

GWS have had Geelong's number recently, winning the last three matches between the two teams but it has certainly been an entertaining battle, with the biggest winning margin seven points. 

This weekend will also mark the Cats first trip to ENGIE Stadium since 2020, and just their fourth visit overall as they look to continue their momentum following a big win over Richmond last Saturday. 

Take a look at the Giants strengths in this weeks Opposition Analysis, proudly presented by Deakin University. 

Ladder 

GWS Giants: 8th (10-6)

Geelong: 4th (11-5)

Points For 

GWS Giants: 1405

Geelong: 1601

Points Against 

GWS Giants: 1255

Geelong: 1210

Deakin Performance Stat of the Week 

Efficiency Inside Forward 50

When looking through Geelong's last three losses to GWS, there is one glaringly obvious statistic that has has had a significant on each result; the Cats efficiency inside 50. 

In each of the last two clashes, Geelong has registered 15 more inside 50 entries than the Giants, sitting at +27 across the three matches and +5 for total scoring shots despite losing all three games. 

The Cats kick a goal on 21% of their forward 50 entries across those contests, by comparison the Giants go at a much better 28%. To put this into context, Geelong are the second best team in the league this year with a 27.3% conversion rate, 21% would rank 15th in the competition. 

Accuracy in front of the big sticks has also been an issue in those games, with Geelong kicking 35.39 to the Giants 39.30, something the Cats will need to fix this weekend as they look to snap their losing streak against the Giants. 

Last Three Geelong v GWS Games

Restricting Tom Green's Influence

There have not been many better players in the competition than Tom Green this year, the star on-baller putting together a terrific campaign in the Giants engine room. 

His ball winning prowess has been impressive, collecting the third most disposals of any player in the AFL while amassing 30 or more possessions on 10 different occasions. 

Green has also been able to extract the footy at the source, accumulating the second most clearances of any player while also leading the league for contested possessions in 2025. 

Geelong have witnessed Green in full flight previously, the Giants star collecting 37 disposals and six clearances in the Round 9 clash earlier this season, also collecting 28 possessions in the two meetings prior between the Cats and GWS. 

The midfield battle will be crucial for both sides on Saturday afternoon, restricting Green will go a long way to achieving a positive result for Geelong. 

Hitting Targets in the Forward Half

One factor that has contributed heavily to Geelong's inefficiency inside 50 has been the Giants intercepting prowess, able to cut off entries inside 50 and repel the ball out of the Cats forward half. 

Fortunately for Geelong, the leader of this has been Sam Taylor who has collected 15 intercept possessions and seven intercept marks across the last two clashes, but the star Giant has been ruled out of Saturday's match through injury. 

But GWS still have a number of other defenders that have caused headaches for the Cats forward line, including Connor Idun who averages nine intercept possessions per game across the last three contests between Geelong and GWS. Leek Aleer is another who has featured previously, picking off 11 intercept possessions and six intercept marks against Geelong in 2024. 

To boost their efficiency inside 50, Geelong will need to use the ball well and find ways around GWS' key defenders.