AFL Eagles to get under GWS Greene's skin
Aug 17, 2017 - 2:34 AM West Coast coach Adam Simpson will encourage his players to get under the skin of Greater Western Sydney forward Toby Greene in Saturday's crunch AFL clash at Spotless Stadium.Greene has a history of on-field misdemeanours, and it will play into the Eagles' hands if the fiery goalsneak lashes out.
The 23-year-old was the difference when the two teams met in round 10, booting two crunch goals in the final term to lift GWS to an eight-point win in Perth.
Simpson said ruffling the feathers of Greene would probably be a tactic his team uses this week.
"I think we'll try everything to try to get him off his game. That might be part of it," Simpson said on Thursday.
"He's a very dangerous player.
""He's a playmaker, but they've probably got seven match winners, and their ability to turn it on in short spurts is also pretty good as well.
"So it's going to have to be a four-quarter effort."
Greene is free to play this weekend after escaping with a fine for his boot to the face of Bulldogs midfielder Luke Dahlhaus.
The incident divided opinions in football circles around the country, and Simpson joked: "I thought he could've got a week for that karate kick."
West Coast's finals hopes hang in the balance ahead of daunting clashes with GWS and Adelaide.
Depending on other results, a loss to GWS could spell the end of West Coast's top-eight ambitions.
West Coast's midfield has struggled for most of the year, and Simpson conceded his team needs to pull out something special in that area against the star-studded Giants.
When the teams last met, GWS obliterated West Coast 54-31 in the clearances, and 56-43 in the inside-50m count on the Eagles' hope deck.
But West Coast have some happy memories of Spotless Stadium.
In their last match there, ruckman Nic Naitanui kicked a goal with just a few seconds remaining to snatch a famous one-point win.
Naitanui is back training with the main group after recovering from a knee reconstruction, but he is unlikely to play again this year unless West Coast go deep into the finals.
Source: AAP
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