Greater Western Sydney GIANTS pair Mark Whiley and Tim Golds have been named to play their first games of the season against Hawthorn in Launceston on Saturday.

Whiley, who grew up in the New South Wales town of Finley and Golds come into the GIANTS team along with Anthony Miles and Tomas Bugg.

Whiley, Golds and Miles have been rewarded for their consistent form for the UWS GIANTS while Bugg has been recalled after one match in the NEAFL.

Sam Reid and Adam Treloar have been omitted while Jacob Townsend (calf) and Zac Williams (ankle) will miss the GIANTS first AFL match in Launceston due to injury.

Head Coach Kevin Sheedy says it’s an exciting challenge to take on Hawthorn in Tasmania.

“It’s a huge task for our young side this week against the Hawks, but we played our best football of the season a fortnight ago against Essendon and we must get back to that level at Launceston on Saturday,” said Sheedy.

“It’s a great opportunity for a player from our zone like Mark Whiley from Southern New South Wales to test himself against one of the best sides in the competition.

“He’s been playing some important roles for the UWS GIANTS and his consistency along with Tim Golds and Anthony Miles means they’re hard to overlook.

“It was a disappointing result against the Crows last round but the playing group has been very impressive this week, putting that game behind them and preparing well to throw everything at the Hawks this week,” he said.”