Robertson Oval, Wagga, Saturday, March 2, 7pm
MISSING
Greater Western Sydney: Chad Cornes, Dom Tyson, Matthew Buntine, James Stewart, Josh Growden.
Brisbane Lions: Jonathan Brown, Simon Black, Brent Staker
LAST WEEK
Greater Western Sydney: The Giants impressed all and sundry with their efforts in round one. Entering the competition with the intent of picking its best side and being as competitive as possible, GWS narrowly lost to Carlton in game one before comfortably knocking off the Sydney Swans for the first time. The Giants are aiming for another strong showing against the Brisbane Lions this week, with Will Hoskin-Elliott and local lad Jacob Townsend both back in the mix after missing last week.
Brisbane Lions: The Lions were another of the more noteworthy sides from round one. Holding Hawthorn to one solitary goal in a 21-point victory and then dismissing Gold Coast by 33 points showed the Lions were up and about early in the pre-season. With some senior players still rested this week, including Jonathan Brown and Simon Black, some young Lions have another chance to prove their worth.
WHAT THEY SAY
Greater Western Sydney: "We've got a bit of a way to go, but the growth of this team over the summer has been enormous. I've been around football a long time and seen the great Richmond sides play and obviously coached the great Bombers sides. Get on early because this is going to be an absolutely magnificent team." – Kevin Sheedy
Brisbane Lions: "We've got to get a good start to the season so (winning) is important for us. We want to get confidence out of the pre-season and I think also from here we have to get some familiarity amongst each other. We'll still manage the group, but we want to make sure we can get some continuity and momentum coming into the season." – Michael Voss
WE SAY
Greater Western Sydney: The Giants had set themselves for the first week of the NAB Cup and duly performed well. But it will be a step up playing a full game against a Lions side also keen to show considerable improvement in 2013. This will be a nice gauge of GWS' progress.
Brisbane Lions: Michael Voss is planning to use to strong NAB Cup campaign as a springboard into the season. With Daniel Rich, Tom Rockliff and the rest of the Lions midfielders in good form, they will want to stamp their authority on the Giants' own crop of talented youngsters.
