GREATER Western Sydney’s seven-game winning streak ended in Ballarat on the final day of the home and away season, but Adam Kingsley expects to have up to a handful of extra players to choose from ahead of next month’s first final.

The Giants made three late changes to the 23 they picked to face the Western Bulldogs on Friday, with Toby Bedford remaining in New South Wales due to a lingering calf issue, while Brent Daniels was ruled out on Sunday morning after waking up with a sore back and Conor Stone was removed due to illness. 

BULLDOGS v GIANTS Full match coverage and stats

It meant Irishman Callum Brown was flown down from Sydney on Sunday morning, arriving less than an hour before the bounce after driving to Mars Stadium. The key forward was used as the sub, entering the game in the final quarter.

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Free agent Isaac Cumming will be available for the first final after playing a scratch match on Saturday, but the wingman has only managed four senior appearances this year due to hamstring injuries. 

Key forward Jake Riccardi hasn’t played since undergoing finger surgery at the end of July but is also on track to be fit for the qualifying final.

“Toby had a sore calf throughout the week that was persistent, just didn’t go away. I would expect to get him back, but we will assess that at the end of next week,” Kingsley said after the 37-point loss to the Bulldogs.

“Brent Daniels woke up this morning with a bit of a sore lower back and with his history of lower leg injuries I thought we weren’t in a position where we could risk him. He is an extremely important player for us. We took a precautionary approach with him. I would imagine he plays. 

“Stone was crook last night and into the morning and hadn’t recovered, so we couldn’t play him. It ended up with shuffling the magnets later. We had to fly Callum Brown this morning, just as the sub. Not ideal prep, but I think our medical team and our high-performance staff did our best and we got a team out there.”

After securing a top four spot last weekend when they beat Fremantle by nine points at Engie Stadium, the Giants didn’t have a lot on the line on Sunday, but Kingsley said they were provided a timely audit ahead of September. 

“Absolutely it does (sharpen the focus),” he said. “We got a bit of an audit today; we got an audit around stoppage, around finals brand, which I think we are strong at usually; we weren’t today; we were beaten by a better team. That’s a nice hit up leading into finals.”

Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge labelled the win one of the most significant home and away results across his ten years at the Whitten Oval. Not only did the club secure a finals berth, but the 2016 premiership coach eclipsed Ted Whitten’s longstanding record for most games as senior coach in the red, white and blue.

After languishing at 3-5 following the round eight loss to Hawthorn in May, the Bulldogs have recovered to finish with 14 wins and qualify for September for the seventh time under Beveridge. 

“It is one of the more significant wins over the journey,” Beveridge said inside Mars Stadium.

“I think with what was at stake, no one is ever sure how much weight to place on the task at hand. Will that be too much? Will that take over your thought processes? Will we put too much pressure on ourselves? Will it disallow you from playing with freedom? Or the polar opposite, just treat it like another game. 

“We erred to the former. We built it up as a big opportunity, as a game that internalised the inspiration a little bit more. They have been a very good side the Giants over the journey, so when everything is live we didn’t want to rely on a team or two to lose, so it is pretty significant.”

All-Australian ruckman Tim English was expected to miss a second straight game with an ankle injury and not be available until the first week of September – if they progressed – but the West Australian recovered quicker than expected, benefitting from the Sunday slot. 

“I don’t tell lies. I’ve been more honest with selection in more recent times than ever. There was a time when even if there was uncertainty, I just wouldn’t say anything. I have to be careful with you guys and girls because you can be accused of playing games. But rather than go through those stresses I’ve been more up front,” Beveridge said.

“Absolutely hand on heart, we thought he wouldn’t play coming off the ankle. It was a bit more serious than just the rolled ankle. One of the ligaments that he injured meant he could be out for two or three and he hadn’t trained. As the week went on he looked more likely than less likely, but I wasn’t going to ring you. It was a bit of surprise in the end. I thought Tim was really valuable.”

Laitham Vandermeer was substituted out of the game early with hamstring tightness and will undergo scans on Monday to determine the severity, while Adam Treloar played out the game with calf tightness and will need to be monitored between now and the elimination final.