A SORE Lachie Whitfield is expected to be fit for Greater Western Sydney's showdown with Collingwood next week, but the news is not so bright for injured midfielder Stephen Coniglio.
The Giants won through to a preliminary final at the MCG next week after outlasting Brisbane in a brutal thriller at the Gabba on Saturday night.
It was a bruising encounter that saw several scuffles break out throughout the night, with superstar forward Toby Greene in for a nervous wait after appearing to grab at the face of Lachie Neale in a pack.
But Giants coach Leon Cameron is confident his players can recover well for their preliminary final date with the Magpies.
Whitfield will be sore for a couple of days after copping an Eric Hipwood knee to his lower back, with the gun Giant lowering his colours in the three-point win to the close-checking Nick Robertson.
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He'll be the one the Giants will need to put plenty of work into ahead of the Magpies clash.
Vice-captain Coniglio is an unlikely starter but Cameron said his players and high-performance staff will work hard to ensure the Giants will be in good shape to take on the Pies.
"He's probably an outside chance, he had a really good session on Saturday," he said.
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"He's progressing well and he's doing lots of agility and lots of running.
"He's starting to do some footy stuff.
Stephen Coniglio is a 'small chance' to take on the Magpies, Leon Cameron says. Picture: AFL Photos
"We'll look at it in seven days' time, if he can get a couple of good sessions in, but as we've said before, if there is any doubt we won't be taking him in to any game.
"It's probably a small chance.
"There's no doubt our players will need the next 48 to 72 hours to physically and mentally recover because that was a cracking game and it can drain you.
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"I'm really confident that our guys will do everything right to have one hell of a crack at Collingwood.
"We understand preliminary finals are the hardest to win so that close game will give our guys a lot of belief."
Cameron said Whitfield played out the game in some discomfort but will be ready to face Collingwood.
"He was really brave to play on," he said.
"People admire Lachie for his sublime skills and ability to use the footy, but what people forget is how tough he is for a guy that’s not built like a brick (outhouse).
"He's that tough it's not funny and he flies back with the flight of the footy.
"I've tried to teach him not to (do that) so he can save himself, but he's extremely brave."
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