Greater Western Sydney GIANTS defender Matt Buntine will play his first match for the season against the West Coast Eagles this Saturday.

The 19-year-old suffered a punctured lung in the opening round of the NAB Cup at Blacktown International Sportspark in February and spent seven weeks on the sidelines overcoming the injury.

Buntine has been rewarded for his strong form for the UWS GIANTS in the NEAFL and comes into the team along with Curtly Hampton and Adam Treloar.

Buntine, who was number five pick in 2011 NAB AFL Draft,  played six games in his debut season in 2012 and has already committed to the club until the end of 2015.

Tomas Bugg will miss the match due to illness while Tim Golds and Mark Whiley have both been omitted.

Head Coach Kevin Sheedy says it’s great to be able to welcome Buntine back into the team.

“Matt [Buntine] is a very good player who’s been out injured for quite some time and he’s now had a good solid month of footy in the NEAFL so he's ready to go,” said Sheedy.

“Adam Treloar will give us some more run through the midfield and it’s good to have Curtly Hampton return off the back of a strong performance for the UWS GIANTS.

“The experience we’ve been getting after playing Adelaide who were a top four side last year, and Hawthorn who were in the Grand Final, and now West Coast, this experience is enormous for this young team and I’m looking forward to seeing how we play.

“It’s going to be a special day on Saturday and it’s fantastic to be part of AFL Indigenous Round with both teams having Indigenous players lining up at ŠKODA Stadium,” he said.

The game will start at 2.10pm on Saturday at ŠKODA Stadium. Tickets are available from Ticketmaster.