The Giants and Hawthorn clash in Sydney’s western suburbs to commence the first Super Saturday of the 2026 season.
GWS, decimated by injury this pre-season, is looking for early vengeance after the Hawks knocked them out of the finals last September.
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But they go in as the underdog, with reigning club champion Tom Green out for the season with a torn ACL, while Josh Kelly, Darcy Jones and Cody Angove don’t have timelines for return, and Sam Taylor and Brent Daniels will spend at least the first month of the season out.
But big-name recruit Clayton Oliver is set to fill the club’s Green-sized void this season as one of the competition’s biggest bargains.
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CAN CLAYTON EMULATE CHRISTIAN?
With Tom Green sidelined for 2026, attention now turns to bargain recruit Clayton Oliver.
“The spotlight goes onto this guy … he has come at an extraordinary discount. One of the biggest discounts in the game’s history,” the Herald Sun’s Jay Clark said on Fox Footy’s Super Saturday Live.
“We can tell you that GWS is paying him $600,000 dollars a year over the life of his five-year contract at GWS.
“He was due to be paid $1.3 million in red and blue this year. So, they are paying him less than half of what he was valued at only a few years ago.
“This guy will be eyeing something special, because he’s loving it up there at GWS … he’s the perfect replacement for Tom Green. What an amazing thing to have this guy step straight in.”
Hawthorn, meanwhile, is out to go one step further this year after a preliminary final berth last season, but is missing star midfielder Will Day, while James Worpel is no longer at the club.
The Hawks are also without Cameron Mackenzie on Saturday, who sits out with a concussion.
After Bad Bunny performed during the week, the ENGIE Stadium turf doesn’t exactly look stellar, but News Corp’s Lachie McKirdy says “there’s confidence it should hold up well”.
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