Eagles boosted as star Giants pair to miss Friday's clash
It comes as West Coast confirm their only change will be draftee Malakai Champion coming in to replace winger Jayden Hunt in a likely sub role.
Hogan was the chief destroyer in round four when the Giants demolished the Eagles by 81 points at ENGIE Stadium, kicking an equal career-high nine goals against Sandy Brock on the youngster's debut.
Eagles coach Andrew McQualter said earlier in the week West Coast had been weighing up which of Brock, Harry Edwards or Reuben Ginbey would take the towering West Australian goalkicker, but they will now be freed up to have at least one play an intercept role.
The absence of the Giants' pair, as well as the Eagles missing Jake Waterman due to injury and Jeremy McGovern due to retirement, means all of the two clubs' All-Australian players will be missing.
Champion will become the eighth Eagle to earn his wings in season 2025 after Archer Reid, Brock, Hamish Davis, Tom Gross, Bo Allan, Tom McCarthy and Jobe Shanahan.
He is also the fifth of the 2024 draft crop to debut and the third Naitanui Academy graduate to represent the blue and gold after being drafted to West Coast.
The young forward has kicked seven goals in 11 WAFL outings this season and fittingly plays his first match just days after fellow Kalgoorlie product and premiership hero Dom Sheed hung up his boots.
The Eagles will also celebrate NAIDOC week in round 17, wearing the club's First Nations jumper that featured during Sir Doug Nicholls round and the club's only victory this season against St Kilda.
West Coast v Greater Western Sydney
Friday, 6.20pm, Optus Stadium
Eagles
FB: R Ginbey H Edwards T McCarthy
HB: L Baker S Brock L Duggan
C: J Cripps H Reid J Hutchinson
HF: J Graham J Shanahan E Hewett
FF: L Ryan J Williams T Brockman
FOLL: M Flynn B Hough T Kelly
INT: R Maric B Allan C Hall B Williams M Champion
EMG: J Hunt A Reid R Bazzo
Giants
FB: C Idun L Aleer J Fonti
HB: H Himmelberg J Buckley L Ash
C: R Angwin T Bedford J Kelly
HF: X O'Halloran A Cadman D Jones
FF: H Thomas M Gruzewski T Greene
FOLL: K Briggs F Callaghan T Green
INT: J Leake C Brown H Rowston J Riccardi J Stringer
EMG: J Delana J Wehr T McMullin
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The Age
37 minutes ago
- The Age
De Minaur to face Danish bolter at Wimbledon after dominant win
The 2018 Wimbledon quarter-finalist is the highest-ranked player left in her quarter, but has a challenging round-of-32 test against Russian power-hitter Liudmila Samsonova, who eliminated in-form Australian Maya Joint in the first round. 'I know a lot of seeded players lost already in both draws – men's and women's – but I've got a very difficult next match,' Kasatkina said. '[Samsonova] is super confident on grass, she's showing good results, and she's playing very good, so it's going to be a very difficult match ... last time we played in Indian Wells [in March], I lost in three sets. Here, on grass, I think she feels even more comfortable [but] I'm going to prepare well, and give my 150 per cent.' However, it was a tough centre court initiation for another Australian, Aleks Vukic, who copped a 6-1, 6-1, 6-3 hiding from world No.1 Jannik Sinner in exactly 100 minutes after saving five match points. 'Obviously, Jannik was too good today,' Vukic said. 'Him and Carlos are definitely at least two levels above everyone else, and it's pretty evident. Playing him on centre court was a great experience for me – it doesn't happen every day – so as far as the experience, it's up there with one of the best for me. 'The result wasn't amazing, but especially the atmosphere in that third set, and at least making it competitive in the third … I definitely left the court with good sensations from that.' Australia's Rinky Hijikata saved three match points in a row, but still trailed 10th seed Ben Shelton 6-2, 7-5, 5-4 when their match was controversially suspended due to bad light, with the American to serve on Friday for a third-round berth. Thompson's opponent was also decided, with Italy's Luciano Darderi sweeping aside British wildcard Arthur Fery in straight sets. Up next for de Minaur is 192nd-ranked Dane August Holmgren, whose fairytale run at his maiden grand slam continued with a 7-6 (7-5), 6-7 (8-10), 6-7 (5-7), 7-5, 7-6 [10-5] triumph over 21st-seeded Czech Tomas Machac across four hours and 38 minutes. The 27-year-old qualifier, who attended the same US college – the University of San Diego – as British qualifier Oliver Tarvet, celebrated like he had won a grand slam title. He has doubled his career prizemoney this week. Holmgren shared several emotional embraces with family, high-fived fans during a lap of court 12, and tossed a towel to one of the many Danish diehards proudly flying their national flag. Loading His victory means the average ranking of de Minaur's first three opponents at Wimbledon this year is 127. Beyond that looms a potential fourth-round showdown with Novak Djokovic, who de Minaur was supposed to play in an aborted quarter-final last year before the Australian's freak hip injury caused him to withdraw. De Minaur found his radar on his first serve against Cazaux – hitting almost 60 per cent of them in – snatched control in the baseline rallies he was previously leaking errors on, and produced a sharp volleying performance. He lost just four of 30 points at the net, with his trusty down-the-line backhand enabling him to not only gain a foothold in rallies, but also move into the court repeatedly. Cazaux played at a high level in patches, but was unable to maintain it when de Minaur went up a notch, most critically in the match-defining ninth game of the third set. The 22-year-old Frenchman recovered well from a lopsided second set, where the Australian star largely steamrolled him, to lead 4-3 on serve in the third and threaten to mount a major challenge. A tense struggle ensued on Cazaux's next service game, with de Minaur coming out on top in a captivating rally – despite his French foe's wonderful defence – to bring up a break point, only for Cazaux to send down an ace and temporarily stave off the danger. Cazaux failed to convert his own game point soon after, then collapsed on consecutive points that effectively decided the contest. Loading He dumped a straightforward volley into the net to face another break point before double-faulting – missing by about a metre – to gift de Minaur the chance to serve out the third set. Australia's No.1 was locked in by then, and drilled an inside-out forehand winner to go two-sets-to-one up. De Minaur had already worn Cazaux's best punch, and breezed to the end without conceding another game. For all his early waywardness, de Minaur should be satisfied that he is moving in the right direction after an underwhelming period where he admitted to struggling with mental fatigue and had to shift his focus from being so rankings-obsessed. Another source of inspiration was Davis Cup teammate Thompson, who again defied a back injury to win a second straight five-setter on Wednesday. 'I don't know exactly how many five-set wins or comebacks from two-sets-to-love down he's had, but it feels like six or seven already. It's amazing to see,' de Minaur said. 'He's the ultimate competitor. He might not play his best, he might not feel amazing, but something you can count on is him competing from the very first point to the last. 'That's what we, as Australians, want the standard to be, and to show, and to let the opponents from the rest of the world know that, 'Hey, if you are playing an Aussie, be ready for a battle'.' Seven-time champion Djokovic, Grigor Dimitrov, Iga Swiatek, Mirra Andreeva, 2022 winner Elena Rybakina, reigning champion Barbora Krejcikova and Emma Navarro were among the other winners on Thursday. But the upsets continued, with 2017 finalist Marin Cilic sending British fourth seed Jack Draper packing in four sets, while Tommy Paul, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Sofia Kenin also exited the tournament.
The Advertiser
an hour ago
- The Advertiser
Boom! Rinky's Wimbledon comeback dream blasted in 55sec
Australian Rinky Hijikata's daydream of pulling off the greatest of Wimbledon escapes against American big-hitter Ben Shelton lasted less than a minute when the pair resumed their controversially suspended late-evening match. Hijikata had got the unexpected chance to live to fight another day after saving three match points and then being reprieved by a controversial postponement of play on Thursday night amid farcical scenes as darkness descended. But when the match resumed on No.2 Court in the Friday afternoon sunshine with No.10 seed Shelton serving for the match, everyone could see the funny side once he won all four points in just 55 seconds, including three booming aces, to complete the straightforward 6-2 7-5 6-3 victory in two hours 12 minutes. Sydneysider Hijikata, who had been unable to dent the two-time grand semi-finalist's delivery all match, couldn't help but grin ruefully as any chance of him becoming the fourth Australian to qualify for the third round alongside Alex de Minaur, Jordan Thompson and Daria Kasatkina was blasted away. Shelton's four unreturnable serves were timed at 141mph (ace), 107mph, 140mph (ace) and 118mph (ace) as he was left all smiles as opposed to the previous night when he had been raging over Spanish chair umpire Nacho Forcadell calling off play just when he was about to step up and issue the coup de grace. In the previous game, Hijikata had been 0-40 and three match points down on his own serve but the world No.87 then won the five next points to stay in the hunt. By that time it was 9.30pm and had become so dark on a court without floodlighting that Forcadell insisted he had to call a suspension. Shelton was furious, and the courtside supervisor stepped in quickly amid his complaints. Meanwhile, Hijikata had already swiftly sped away to complete his great escape. The most ridiculous aspect of the affair had been that after he had taken his two-set lead at 8.40pm, the dominant Shelton had already queried with Forcadell whether there was enough time to complete the match. The 22-year-old American also pointed out it was beginning to be slippery at the back of the court and seemed as if he would have been happy for the match to be postponed at that point. Hijikata, perhaps playing for time, had meanwhile disappeared for a strategic comfort break and when the 24-year-old Australian returned, he didn't seem overly enthused about them playing on. Indeed, after slipping on the grass at 1-3 down, he pointedly told Forcadell: "No mate, you're not the one out there running and moving." Ultimately, though, there was no way back on Friday as Shelton ruthlessly booked his third round date with Hungarian 'lucky loser' Marton Fucsovics, who also completed victory in a resumed contest, knocking out crowd favourite Gael Monfils 6-4 1-6 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-4. Australian Rinky Hijikata's daydream of pulling off the greatest of Wimbledon escapes against American big-hitter Ben Shelton lasted less than a minute when the pair resumed their controversially suspended late-evening match. Hijikata had got the unexpected chance to live to fight another day after saving three match points and then being reprieved by a controversial postponement of play on Thursday night amid farcical scenes as darkness descended. But when the match resumed on No.2 Court in the Friday afternoon sunshine with No.10 seed Shelton serving for the match, everyone could see the funny side once he won all four points in just 55 seconds, including three booming aces, to complete the straightforward 6-2 7-5 6-3 victory in two hours 12 minutes. Sydneysider Hijikata, who had been unable to dent the two-time grand semi-finalist's delivery all match, couldn't help but grin ruefully as any chance of him becoming the fourth Australian to qualify for the third round alongside Alex de Minaur, Jordan Thompson and Daria Kasatkina was blasted away. Shelton's four unreturnable serves were timed at 141mph (ace), 107mph, 140mph (ace) and 118mph (ace) as he was left all smiles as opposed to the previous night when he had been raging over Spanish chair umpire Nacho Forcadell calling off play just when he was about to step up and issue the coup de grace. In the previous game, Hijikata had been 0-40 and three match points down on his own serve but the world No.87 then won the five next points to stay in the hunt. By that time it was 9.30pm and had become so dark on a court without floodlighting that Forcadell insisted he had to call a suspension. Shelton was furious, and the courtside supervisor stepped in quickly amid his complaints. Meanwhile, Hijikata had already swiftly sped away to complete his great escape. The most ridiculous aspect of the affair had been that after he had taken his two-set lead at 8.40pm, the dominant Shelton had already queried with Forcadell whether there was enough time to complete the match. The 22-year-old American also pointed out it was beginning to be slippery at the back of the court and seemed as if he would have been happy for the match to be postponed at that point. Hijikata, perhaps playing for time, had meanwhile disappeared for a strategic comfort break and when the 24-year-old Australian returned, he didn't seem overly enthused about them playing on. Indeed, after slipping on the grass at 1-3 down, he pointedly told Forcadell: "No mate, you're not the one out there running and moving." Ultimately, though, there was no way back on Friday as Shelton ruthlessly booked his third round date with Hungarian 'lucky loser' Marton Fucsovics, who also completed victory in a resumed contest, knocking out crowd favourite Gael Monfils 6-4 1-6 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-4. Australian Rinky Hijikata's daydream of pulling off the greatest of Wimbledon escapes against American big-hitter Ben Shelton lasted less than a minute when the pair resumed their controversially suspended late-evening match. Hijikata had got the unexpected chance to live to fight another day after saving three match points and then being reprieved by a controversial postponement of play on Thursday night amid farcical scenes as darkness descended. But when the match resumed on No.2 Court in the Friday afternoon sunshine with No.10 seed Shelton serving for the match, everyone could see the funny side once he won all four points in just 55 seconds, including three booming aces, to complete the straightforward 6-2 7-5 6-3 victory in two hours 12 minutes. Sydneysider Hijikata, who had been unable to dent the two-time grand semi-finalist's delivery all match, couldn't help but grin ruefully as any chance of him becoming the fourth Australian to qualify for the third round alongside Alex de Minaur, Jordan Thompson and Daria Kasatkina was blasted away. Shelton's four unreturnable serves were timed at 141mph (ace), 107mph, 140mph (ace) and 118mph (ace) as he was left all smiles as opposed to the previous night when he had been raging over Spanish chair umpire Nacho Forcadell calling off play just when he was about to step up and issue the coup de grace. In the previous game, Hijikata had been 0-40 and three match points down on his own serve but the world No.87 then won the five next points to stay in the hunt. By that time it was 9.30pm and had become so dark on a court without floodlighting that Forcadell insisted he had to call a suspension. Shelton was furious, and the courtside supervisor stepped in quickly amid his complaints. Meanwhile, Hijikata had already swiftly sped away to complete his great escape. The most ridiculous aspect of the affair had been that after he had taken his two-set lead at 8.40pm, the dominant Shelton had already queried with Forcadell whether there was enough time to complete the match. The 22-year-old American also pointed out it was beginning to be slippery at the back of the court and seemed as if he would have been happy for the match to be postponed at that point. Hijikata, perhaps playing for time, had meanwhile disappeared for a strategic comfort break and when the 24-year-old Australian returned, he didn't seem overly enthused about them playing on. Indeed, after slipping on the grass at 1-3 down, he pointedly told Forcadell: "No mate, you're not the one out there running and moving." Ultimately, though, there was no way back on Friday as Shelton ruthlessly booked his third round date with Hungarian 'lucky loser' Marton Fucsovics, who also completed victory in a resumed contest, knocking out crowd favourite Gael Monfils 6-4 1-6 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-4. Australian Rinky Hijikata's daydream of pulling off the greatest of Wimbledon escapes against American big-hitter Ben Shelton lasted less than a minute when the pair resumed their controversially suspended late-evening match. Hijikata had got the unexpected chance to live to fight another day after saving three match points and then being reprieved by a controversial postponement of play on Thursday night amid farcical scenes as darkness descended. But when the match resumed on No.2 Court in the Friday afternoon sunshine with No.10 seed Shelton serving for the match, everyone could see the funny side once he won all four points in just 55 seconds, including three booming aces, to complete the straightforward 6-2 7-5 6-3 victory in two hours 12 minutes. Sydneysider Hijikata, who had been unable to dent the two-time grand semi-finalist's delivery all match, couldn't help but grin ruefully as any chance of him becoming the fourth Australian to qualify for the third round alongside Alex de Minaur, Jordan Thompson and Daria Kasatkina was blasted away. Shelton's four unreturnable serves were timed at 141mph (ace), 107mph, 140mph (ace) and 118mph (ace) as he was left all smiles as opposed to the previous night when he had been raging over Spanish chair umpire Nacho Forcadell calling off play just when he was about to step up and issue the coup de grace. In the previous game, Hijikata had been 0-40 and three match points down on his own serve but the world No.87 then won the five next points to stay in the hunt. By that time it was 9.30pm and had become so dark on a court without floodlighting that Forcadell insisted he had to call a suspension. Shelton was furious, and the courtside supervisor stepped in quickly amid his complaints. Meanwhile, Hijikata had already swiftly sped away to complete his great escape. The most ridiculous aspect of the affair had been that after he had taken his two-set lead at 8.40pm, the dominant Shelton had already queried with Forcadell whether there was enough time to complete the match. The 22-year-old American also pointed out it was beginning to be slippery at the back of the court and seemed as if he would have been happy for the match to be postponed at that point. Hijikata, perhaps playing for time, had meanwhile disappeared for a strategic comfort break and when the 24-year-old Australian returned, he didn't seem overly enthused about them playing on. Indeed, after slipping on the grass at 1-3 down, he pointedly told Forcadell: "No mate, you're not the one out there running and moving." Ultimately, though, there was no way back on Friday as Shelton ruthlessly booked his third round date with Hungarian 'lucky loser' Marton Fucsovics, who also completed victory in a resumed contest, knocking out crowd favourite Gael Monfils 6-4 1-6 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-4.
Perth Now
2 hours ago
- Perth Now
Boom! Rinky's Wimbledon comeback dream blasted in 55sec
Australian Rinky Hijikata's daydream of pulling off the greatest of Wimbledon escapes against American big-hitter Ben Shelton lasted less than a minute when the pair resumed their controversially suspended late-evening match. Hijikata had got the unexpected chance to live to fight another day after saving three match points and then being reprieved by a controversial postponement of play on Thursday night amid farcical scenes as darkness descended. But when the match resumed on No.2 Court in the Friday afternoon sunshine with No.10 seed Shelton serving for the match, everyone could see the funny side once he won all four points in just 55 seconds, including three booming aces, to complete the straightforward 6-2 7-5 6-3 victory in two hours 12 minutes. Sydneysider Hijikata, who had been unable to dent the two-time grand semi-finalist's delivery all match, couldn't help but grin ruefully as any chance of him becoming the fourth Australian to qualify for the third round alongside Alex de Minaur, Jordan Thompson and Daria Kasatkina was blasted away. Shelton's four unreturnable serves were timed at 141mph (ace), 107mph, 140mph (ace) and 118mph (ace) as he was left all smiles as opposed to the previous night when he had been raging over Spanish chair umpire Nacho Forcadell calling off play just when he was about to step up and issue the coup de grace. In the previous game, Hijikata had been 0-40 and three match points down on his own serve but the world No.87 then won the five next points to stay in the hunt. By that time it was 9.30pm and had become so dark on a court without floodlighting that Forcadell insisted he had to call a suspension. Shelton was furious, and the courtside supervisor stepped in quickly amid his complaints. Meanwhile, Hijikata had already swiftly sped away to complete his great escape. The most ridiculous aspect of the affair had been that after he had taken his two-set lead at 8.40pm, the dominant Shelton had already queried with Forcadell whether there was enough time to complete the match. The 22-year-old American also pointed out it was beginning to be slippery at the back of the court and seemed as if he would have been happy for the match to be postponed at that point. Hijikata, perhaps playing for time, had meanwhile disappeared for a strategic comfort break and when the 24-year-old Australian returned, he didn't seem overly enthused about them playing on. Indeed, after slipping on the grass at 1-3 down, he pointedly told Forcadell: "No mate, you're not the one out there running and moving." Ultimately, though, there was no way back on Friday as Shelton ruthlessly booked his third round date with Hungarian 'lucky loser' Marton Fucsovics, who also completed victory in a resumed contest, knocking out crowd favourite Gael Monfils 6-4 1-6 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-4.
