GREATER Western Sydney will make one final attempt to overturn forward Toby Bedford's one-match suspension, with the club confirming they will challenge the ban at the AFL Appeal Board on Thursday afternoon.
The club will seek to have Bedford available for this Saturday's crucial elimination final against St Kilda, with the former Melbourne small forward emerging as one of coach Adam Kingsley's most important players this season.
Bedford failed in his attempt to downgrade the charge at the AFL Tribunal on Monday, having been suspended for an off-the-ball bump on Carlton's Zac Fisher in the side's round 24 victory a fortnight ago.
The incident was initially graded by the Match Review Officer as careless conduct with medium impact and high contact – drawing a one-match suspension – with Fisher forced to undergo a concussion assessment as a result of the bump.
But the Giants argued to the Tribunal that the contact was not high, nor was it forceful enough to be considered medium impact. After nearly an hour of deliberation, the Tribunal ruled them unsuccessful in their attempts to overturn the ban.
That was despite Fisher being called to provide evidence, where he revealed the bump had made contact "against his shoulder" and said he was feeling "a-OK" to continue having passed his concussion test.
Grounds for appeal at the AFL Appeal Board include:
* Error of law that has a material impact on the decision of the Tribunal.
* That the decision was so unreasonable that no Tribunal acting reasonably could have come to that decision having regard to the evidence before it.
* Classification of offence manifestly excessive or inadequate.
* Sanction imposed manifestly excessive or inadequate.
The Giants are also hopeful that All-Australian defender Sam Taylor and impressive midfielder Finn Callaghan will be fit for selection this weekend, with both making promising returns from respective injury issues.
Taylor missed the side's round 24 win over the Blues with a low-grade hamstring strain, while Callaghan has been unavailable for more than a month after dealing with ongoing Achilles soreness.
But the club will make a final call on Taylor and Callaghan after its main training session on Thursday after both successfully made it through light duties alongside teammates on Tuesday morning.
Young midfielder Xavier O'Halloran (thumb) and ruckman Braydon Preuss (soreness) are also set to be available for selection having taken part in a VFL scratch match against Sydney over the weekend of round 24.