The GIANTS will have to make three forced changes after a torrid win over Adelaide at GIANTS Stadium.
Harry Perryman (hamstring) and concussed pair Lachie Whitfield and Josh Kelly were the casualties from the match against the Crows, while late withdrawal Leek Aleer has now been sidelined for a month after pulling up with a sore quad following training.
"Certainly through the midfield, Harry Rowston and Cooper Hamilton were really strong performers for us (in the VFL), Ryan Angwin also played well on a wing," GIANTS coach Adam Kingsley said of who would be in contention to replace the trio.
"Conor Stone was impressive up front, Aaron Cadman kicked five or six goals in the end, Callum Brown from behind the ball was really, really strong. Not sure on the update on Phil Davis, whether he's fit to play or not (a test with an ankle injury), we'll wait for the week to unfold there."
Cadman booted six goals in a practice match against Sydney last weekend, but it's structure, rather than form, that held him out of round one.
"Cads had a really strong game in the VFL, so he's continually putting his hand up, so we'll have a decision to make at some point, whether that's this week or beyond, around do we want to see him at AFL level right now?" Kingsley told reporters on Wednesday.
"What's the mix in the forward line, do we play four talls, is three enough, who makes way if we bring Aaron in – all these sorts of decision-making is attached to Aaron and we're working our way through that.
"But we're in no rush to play him. He's here for a career, not the first month of the season. We've been really pleased with his performance over summer and he played really well on the weekend, but if he doesn't get in this weekend, he'll keep plugging away, he's a real competitor and he'll keep trying to improve."
The bump has been a hot topic of discussion following suspensions to Kozzy Pickett and Shane McAdam, who was involved in an incident with GIANT Jacob Wehr.
Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin on Tuesday he thought the bump was dead, and while Kingsley wasn't quite as resolute, he questioned the need for the action in the first place.
"I haven't addressed it with our playing group, I'm not sure I need to. There's obviously a lot of media around what's right and what's wrong, really. I think our players know the difference. Clearly when the opposition have the ball, we're not trying to bump them, that's certainly not something that's in our coaching, anyway," Kingsley said.
"I'm probably not quite 100 per cent as strong (as Goodwin), but I'm not far away. I think he's right. I'm not sure there's any real benefit other than if you're just jostling for position on the wing, but is that bumping, or what is it? The days of running from 15-20m away and trying to line someone up, that's not in this day and age."
The GIANTS are in the middle of a tough fortnight, playing in Adelaide in 36-degree heat and humidity before heading over to Perth to face the Eagles.
"It certainly was unusual. It was primarily the humidity, it felt really sticky and hot. It was almost like we were playing in Port Douglas, or something like that. But it was the same for both teams, I'm sure Adelaide have worked on their recovery this week," Kingsley said.
"We just had our first training session of the week, and it was a little lighter given what we'd normally do post-game. We've managed the players in that aspect. Our main training will be shorter as well, but we'll still train the drills we need to in order to prepare properly for West Coast.
"We'll fly some of the guys – on a needs basis – will fly a little earlier to give them a bit more time to acclimatise over there. We've doubled our recovery this week, we're really comfortable with our performance staff around what they've done for our guys, how our guys have really attacked their recovery."
