THERE is added incentive for the Giants to continue progressing this September.
While star onballer Stephen Coniglio won't return for next week's semi-final against either Brisbane or Richmond, he could be set for a preliminary final should the Giants advance.
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Coniglio stepped up his recovery from a knee injury with another strong session on Saturday, having missed the last eight weeks after suffering cartilage damage in round 17.
It coincided with the Giants qualifying for the semi-final with a comprehensive 58-point victory over the Bulldogs, where fellow star midfielders Lachie Whitfield, Josh Kelly, Jacob Hopper and Tim Taranto all starred to overwhelm a strong rival onball group.
Despite losing Brett Deledio to another calf injury that appears likely to bring an end to his 275-game career, the Giants now look destined to be bolstered by key returning players.
"He won't play next week," Giants coach Leon Cameron said of Coniglio's availability.
"He was really good with his agility during the week, so he's probably more of a chance the week after. But, again, we'll be really rock solid on the decision we make with him.
"If he's not 100 percent right, then he won't play this year. As hard as that is for me to say, he's going to be around for a long, long time at our footy club. I don't want any issues for next year if we play him too early.
"He trained really well on Wednesday and he had a good session today. But that's probably going to be a week-to-week thing. He won't play next week, but who knows after that if we're good enough to get through."
Deledio played out the match, despite injuring his calf in the second term, though his career now looks finished with the veteran already announcing he will retire at season's end.
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Adam Tomlinson, who was controversially dropped on the eve of the encounter after playing all 22 home and away games, looms as his most likely replacement for next week.
It comes after a tough few days for Tomlinson, who earned the praises of his coach.
"I'm not going to sit here and say it wasn't a difficult week," Cameron said.
"Every footy club that plays in finals, there's a hard luck story everywhere. Adam was that.
"He would be the first to put up his hand (and say) that his last three or four weeks have been a little bit up and down and not to the level that we know he can play at.
"That was a really tough decision. But for the circumstances that we faced, Adam has handled it unbelievably well. He sat upstairs and watched the game with us, he's in the rooms, he trains really well and he's even continued to take our captain's run on Friday.
"You would have seen him out on the ground afterwards, consoling Brett. It speaks volumes of Adam and he'll put up his hand next week, like a number of other boys that were unlucky.
"There's going to be an opportunity and if you do the right things, sometimes that luck can come your way. But, clearly, he was very stiff."
