Taylor told Foxfooty.com.au\u2019s Ben Cotton<\/a> after the Marvel Stadium belting. <\/p>\nWell, the brilliant Giant will get his chance at redemption on Saturday night – and how he fares this time around will be critical in deciding the result, as Darcy will be Victoria\u2019s main avenue to goal. <\/p>\n
Ben King stepping up in Jeremy Cameron\u2019s injury absence will also be crucial, but nobody\u2019s hiding from the fact that Darcy is the man up forward for the Vics. <\/p>\n
But while the Bulldog should rightly strike fear in the Sandgropers, there aren\u2019t many better men to assign to stop him, despite Taylor\u2019s struggles last time out – the 26-year-old was last year involved in 65 contested defensive one-on-ones for just a 16.9 per cent loss rate. <\/p>\n
Sam Darcy bagged five goals while playing on Sam Taylor during an 88-point win in Round 21 last year. (Photo by Michael Willson\/AFL Photos via Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
JACOB WEITERING (VIC) vs. AARON NAUGHTON (WA)<\/p>\n
And while Darcy-Taylor is crucial up one end of the ground, so is this matchup at the other. <\/p>\n
Like Darcy, Bulldogs teammate Naughton\u2019s performance will be pivotal in shaping any chance the Black Swans have of claiming a Big V scalp. <\/p>\n
The high-marking left-footer has been a mercurial prospect for most of his career, but he staged a blistering 60-goal campaign last year, including 34 majors in his final eight games. <\/p>\n
A big haul on Saturday will go a long way in helping cause a boilover at home, but he comes up against one of the league\u2019s near-impenetrable walls in Weitering. <\/p>\n
The Blues star was involved in 55 contested defensive one-on-ones last year for a stringent loss rate of just 12.7 per cent. <\/p>\n
WA & Vic gearing up for Origin | 01:50<\/p>\n
PATRICK CRIPPS (WA) vs. MARCUS BONTEMPELLI (VIC)<\/p>\n
The two poster boys of AFL Origin are a near certainty to line up on each other on Saturday night. Probably not for the entire contest, but expect ample one-on-one time. <\/p>\n
The superstar skippers\u2019 clearance-winning ability is going to be on full show, and whoever wins the matchup will likely have a claim to best-on-ground honours. <\/p>\n
Victoria\u2019s midfield depth is irrefutably the stronger of the two sides, which means Cripps, leading WA, will have a big load to carry – a burden he\u2019s used to at Carlton. <\/p>\n
Because if it\u2019s not Bontempelli doing the damage for the Vics, it could be Nick Daicos, Zak Butters or Zach Merrett, among others. <\/p>\n
But with Daicos a chance to play out of the goalsquare and Butters possibly lining up at half-forward, Bontempelli will be given every chance by Chris Scott, Sam Mitchell and co. to stamp his influence in the guts – though both can roll forward and impact. <\/p>\n
It\u2019ll be two hard bodies crashing against each other. The big question is just how ferociously they decide to go at it. <\/p>\n
Vic finalise squad for AFL Origin | 01:16<\/p>\n
MATT ROWELL (VIC) vs. LUKE JACKSON (WA)<\/p>\n
This has the potential to be a truly epic battle. <\/p>\n
For all the talk around Jackson preparing to play a pure midfield role for the Dockers this year, we could see a genuine preview of it on Saturday on his home turf. <\/p>\n
With Collingwood star Darcy Cameron likely to assume the first-choice rucking reins for the hosts, Jackson, in an undermatched midfield group, could step up as a rover alongside Cripps and Swans dynamo Chad Warner. <\/p>\n
And with Bontempelli surely rubbing shoulders with Cripps, reigning Brownlow medallist Rowell might have to step up in a more defensive role. <\/p>\n
Gold Coast\u2019s ball-winning bull has the physical gene to match it with the big-bodied Jackson – and while the Docker has a great tank for a big man, Rowell could still run him off his legs. <\/p>\n
And alternatively, when Caleb Serong is in and under for the Vics, might WA assistant Justin Longmuir suggest throwing Jackson onto his triple All-Australian Freo teammate in the centre square? We\u2019ll soon see. <\/p>\n
Battle expecting fiery Origin game | 00:50<\/p>\n
TOM STEWART (VIC) vs. CHARLIE CAMERON (WA)<\/p>\n
For all the star-power the Victorians have, they\u2019re still going to have to find a way to quell the plethora of exciting West Australian smalls. <\/p>\n
Kysaiah Pickett and Shai Bolton will wreak havoc in the forward 50, but they\u2019ll also push up the ground when they can, leaving Cameron drifting closer to goal. <\/p>\n
While the Victorians boast competition-leading key backs, they don\u2019t have a true smaller shutdown artist aside from Blake Hardwick, who might be tasked Pickett or Bolton. <\/p>\n
That leaves Stewart, one of the most versatile defenders in terms of his ability to play tall and small, to try and contain the exciting Cameron. <\/p>\n
It\u2019ll make for an intriguing clash – and whether it\u2019s Cameron, Pickett or Bolton, the Victorians\u2019 lack of a smaller defensive presence is an area the hosts should look to exploit, with Lachie Ash and Jack Sinclair more offensively-minded rebounders. <\/p>\n
Ben King earns Victoria call up | 00:32<\/p>\n
MAX GAWN (VIC) vs. DARCY CAMERON (WA)<\/p>\n
The pre-eminent ruckman of this generation, Gawn appears to have the upper hand in this matchup purely because of who he has at his disposal to tap to. <\/p>\n
Bontempelli, Daicos, Rowell, Butters, Merrett, Anderson, Serong – he\u2019ll have a hard time deciding where best to direct his handiwork. <\/p>\n
But while the star Melbourne skipper will be tipped to outduel his Collingwood counterpart – with the pair having gone head-to-head in numerous King\u2019s Birthday showdowns – one of Cameron\u2019s best traits is his around-the-ground impact. In particular, his knack for dropping behind the play to intercept mark. <\/p>\n
And make no mistake, that sort of play is also in big Gawn\u2019s wheelhouse – which is why this should be a great clash both in the centre square and around the ground. <\/p>\n
NATHAN BROAD (WA) vs. PATRICK DANGERFIELD (VIC)<\/p>\n
Perhaps an underrated clash, but if these two do in fact line up on one another, it\u2019ll be interesting to watch play out – with the pair having crossed paths numerous times on the finals stage. <\/p>\n
Of West Australia\u2019s taller defenders – including Sam Taylor, Tom Barrass and Rory Lobb – Broad is the only one with the ideal versatility and size to contain Dangerfield\u2019s bullocking impact. <\/p>\n
Almost a certainty to be deployed as a full-time forward, the 35-year-old Cats superstar is set to see many goalscoring opportunities as a result of his dynamic midfielders\u2019 work. <\/p>\n
The competition saw last year just how dangerous Dangerfield could be as a purely forward-half force, kicking 30 goals and averaging 6.5 score involvements per game as Geelong soared to September heights. <\/p>\n
Triple premiership player Broad may be approaching the end of his playing days, but a solid outing against Dangerfield in his home state will give hope to the idea that he has a bit left in the tank. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"AFL Origin is two days away, which means it\u2019s time to delve into the potential matchups that\u2019ll draw…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":473570,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,2095,64,63,689,55,639,684,11295,107014,241454,12923,241452,215636,241461,104593,69080,241462,241456,241453,2105,2485,1139,231413,25174,241451,155473,239706,3231,36839,608,17351,12141,10400,7198,18093,673,2041,2067,677,241458,230492,241457,701,241459,12936,12144,1820,85,241463,68089,51303,241455,670,69078,241460,2614,698],"class_list":["post-473569","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-afl","tag-america","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australia-and-new-zealand","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-ben-cotton","tag-ben-king","tag-blake-hardwick","tag-brutal-fail-sparks","tag-chris-scott","tag-competition-leading-key-backs","tag-contested-defensive-one-on-ones","tag-darcy-taylor","tag-defensive-presence","tag-defensive-role","tag-dynamic-midfielders","tag-finalise-squad","tag-first-choice-rucking-reins","tag-getty-images-inc","tag-gold-coast","tag-greater-western-sydney-giants","tag-hawks-defender","tag-home-turf","tag-hyped-pre-seasons","tag-injury-absence","tag-injury-fears-surrounding","tag-jack-jovanovski","tag-jack-sinclair","tag-jackson","tag-jake-waterman","tag-jeremy-cameron","tag-justin-longmuir","tag-michael-willson","tag-midfield-depth","tag-new-south-wales","tag-north-america","tag-northern-america","tag-oceania","tag-player-matchups","tag-poster-boys","tag-pure-midfield-role","tag-queensland","tag-rowell","tag-sam-mitchell","tag-sam-taylor","tag-score-involvements","tag-sports","tag-star-defensive-counterpart","tag-state-of-washington","tag-stewart","tag-stringent-loss-rate","tag-sydney","tag-tom-barrass","tag-undermatched-midfield-group","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-western-bulldogs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/473569","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=473569"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/473569\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/473570"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=473569"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=473569"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=473569"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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