AFL round one 2026, scores, results, odds, stats and start time from the Marvel Stadium in Melbourne

GWS member Clayton Oliver’s admission that he arrived at his second AFL club “a bit fat” drew giggles from his new team-mates.

Partly because they witnessed how much work the previously troubled Melbourne star put in over the summer and saw his exit to the glamorous Giants approaching.

Oliver starred alongside five-goal hero Jake Stringer in the opening round victory over Hawthorn, with the high-profile pair showing they still have what it takes to win the game.

“There were a few players that did well over the weekend and you could almost really feel it and see it coming from three or four weeks ago,” GWS forward Jake Riccardi told reporters on Monday.

“Stringer was certainly one – he had five strikes – and you could see him making a late effort to get ready… and then Clarrie was another one too.

“His last month was incredible and he really stepped up.

“As Tom (Green) was falling, he really took it upon himself to be like, ‘Right, I really need to fill that void.’

Oliver went into midfield infringement with 26 disposals, 10 clearances and a goal in his first game for GWS after 205 with Melbourne.

He admitted arriving in Sydney after the game: “It’s not very fit to be honest, it’s a bit fat.”

But the 28-year-old’s efforts inspired his teammates, including young forward Phoenix Gothard, who played in his first match.

“We train pretty hard and we value that pretty hard, so I think it was a bit of a shock at the beginning,” Gothard said of Oliver.

“But he has improved incredibly and put in a lot of work and you can see that in his current form.

“Hopefully it will be great for us down the line because it will be pretty important.”

Oliver’s efforts helped GWS bury the demons of last year’s final qualifier defeat to Hawthorn and this week takes on a similar theme.

The Giants travel to face the Western Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium, where they lost by 88 points to the same opponents late last season.

It follows a 32-point seventh-round defeat by the Bulldogs, who have won nine of the last 10 meetings between the sides.

“These games will come but it’s probably good for us to have them at the beginning of the season, we have to knock them out and get this done,” Riccardi said.

“We’ve had results in the past where teams have outperformed us by a lot and we’ve responded to that.

“I think this week will be no different than last week in terms of correcting the things we did wrong in our two games against the Doggies last year.”

AAP