Greater Western Sydney heads into its final home game of 2013 hoping to pick up a second win and also have a small say in the shaping of the top eight. They will be keen to give Kevin Sheedy a fitting farewell in the outgoing veteran's final home match as coach. Jeremy Cameron will also hope to stay right in the hunt in his impressive bid for the Coleman Medal. The Tigers need to keep winning and banking as much percentage as possible in the race for a home final. Their defeat to Carlton last week ended their top-four hopes and they are in a three-way dogfight for fifth place on the ladder with Collingwood and Essendon. Coach Damien Hardwick will expect a strong response after their fadeout against the Blues.
WHERE AND WHEN: Skoda Stadium, August 25, 3.20pm
TV AND RADIO: Click here for broadcast guide and odds
LAST MEETING
R12, 2012, Richmond 11.20 (86) d GWS 12.2 (74) at Skoda Stadium
THE SIX POINTS
1. GWS and Richmond meet for just the second time. Their previous meeting resulted in a 12-point win for the Tigers in the Giants' second ever appearance at their new Skoda Stadium home in round 12, 2012.
2. Sheedy coaches against Richmond for the 50th and final time. A three-time premiership winner with the Tigers as a player, his career coaching record against them reads 33 wins, 15 losses and one draw.
3. Trent Cotchin's talent is undeniable, but he has been a little inconsistent by his high standards in 2013, dropping him to 33rd overall in the Official AFL Player Ratings. Brett Deledio is the highest-ranked Tiger at No.24. Callan Ward (32nd) leads the Giants.
4. Sheedy has had a significant influence on opposition coach Hardwick's development as a player. No less than 153 of Hardwick's 207 AFL games were spent under Sheedy's tutelage at Windy Hill.
5. Tackling continues to be an issue for the Tigers. While they have gradually improved in that area over the course of the season, they are still ranked dead last in the AFL in that statistic. The tenacious young Giants are 15th.
6. Richmond has stepped up defensively, conceding just 82 points per game to be ranked fourth in the AFL. The bottom-placed Giants are 18th, letting in 134 points per game.
