Shaw ready to resume AFL battle with Betts

GWS defender Heath Shaw can't wait to take on Adelaide star Eddie Betts, who he regards as one of the best AFL forwards he's ever played on.

AFL

GWS's Heath Shaw is looking forward to resuming his long-running battle with the Crows' Eddie Betts. (AAP)

Saturday night's venue will be a source of confidence for GWS veteran Heath Shaw, but the same can't be said about the prospect of renewing his AFL rivalry with Adelaide star Eddie Betts.

The Giants will seek to shore up their top-four spot when they host the Crows in Canberra.

GWS boast an eight-match winning streak at Manuka Oval, where their most recent loss came in 2015.

The showdown between Shaw and Betts will go a long way to deciding the winner, as will the broader contest between the Giants' in-form back six and the Crows' star-studded forward line.

Shaw knows Betts' party tricks as well as anybody, having attempted to curb the livewire's influence with varying degrees of success over the past 12 years.

"He's one of the best small forwards I've ever played on, if not the best," Shaw told reporters.

"Over the years we've probably grown a friendship from the battles ... there's always that mutual respect between all the older blokes, still battling away over the age of 30.

"But we're fierce competitors and both want to get on top."

Shaw and Betts both debuted in 2005. They first played against each other in round 20 of that season, when Betts kicked three goals to help Carlton topple Collingwood at the MCG.

A lot has changed since then, including both players changing clubs, but Betts still possesses the ability to turn a game on its head with a single act of brilliance.

"You've got to be concentrating the whole time or he'll get a hold of you. I always look forward to playing on Eddie, even though he has touched me up a couple of times," Shaw said.

Shaw noted enforced omissions Brett Deledio, Toby Greene, Dawson Simpson and Sam Taylor will be sorely missed, but suggested the Giants will lift in their final home game of the season at Manuka Oval.

"We love playing down in Canberra. It's always been a bit of a fortress for us, especially in the last three years," he said.

The Giants snapped a four-match losing streak and turned their season around during their previous meeting with Adelaide.

The expansion club have won seven of their past eight games since that hard-fought victory at Adelaide Oval.


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Source: AAP


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