EMERGING Greater Western Sydney big man Rory Lobb is no certainty to take on the Western Bulldogs this week after missing training on Thursday.
Lobb looked on with a pressure bandage on his calf as the rest of the squad went through their main session at Spotless Stadium.
The loss of the key forward and back-up ruckman would be a blow for the home side, with the Giants' three tall forwards in Lobb, Jeremy Cameron and Jon Patton expected to give them a decided advantage against a Bulldogs defence decimated by injury and suspension.
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Coach Leon Cameron explained that the West Australian was sore but unlikely to miss Sunday's clash.
"He's had a huge load," he said.
"A third-year player playing every game, as well as the NAB Challenge and a big pre-season.
"We've opted to choose the easy route for him today.
"We expect Rory (Lobb) to get up, but if something happened, (Adam) Tomlinson has played some good footy and (Tom) Downie has played some good footy.
"Their two rucks are going really, really well, (Tom) Campbell and (Jordan) Roughead have got a good combination forward and on the ball.
"There's talk of (Will) Minson (coming in) as well so they might have three.
"It'll be interesting to see."
The Bulldogs will be without Matthew Boyd (suspended), captain Robert Murphy (knee), Jason Johannisen (hamstring), Matthew Suckling (ankle) and Marcus Adams (finger) this week, leaving coach Luke Beveridge with a patched-up backline against the Giants.
Power forwards Jack Redpath (suspended) and Tom Boyd (shoulder) are also unavailable, but Cameron said the Dogs have been fantastic this season in covering for the missing players so far this year and he's expecting them to bring in some more talent this week.
Teammates Rory Lobb and Jeremy Cameron controlling the GWS forward line. Picture: AFL Picture
"The personell that they keep bringing in are doing the job," he said.
"Whether it's the first-gamer last week Bailey Williams or Jed Adcock, who is a 200-game player, they've got a really good knack of (saying) one down one in.
"We want to be able get to that stage.
"They're stepping up to the mark and they're a really, really good side.
"The way they beat Melbourne last week was just clinical and it was the same with Adelaide the week before."
The Giants' ability to win contested ball has improved markedly this season but they'll find out just how far they've come on Sunday.
The Bulldogs are ranked number one in the competition for contested possession differential in 2016, with the Giants ranked second, and Cameron knows his team's ability to match the visitors in that area is crucial to their chances of a sixth straight win.
GWS co-captain Callan Ward leads his side again in the key statistic this season, and along with Dylan Shiel, Stephen Coniglio and newcomer Jacob Hopper, will need to be at his best to counter the likes of Luke Dahlhaus, Mitch Wallis, Tom Liberatore and Marcus Bontempelli in close.
After finishing last season ranked last for contested possessions per game, the Giants are now fifth in the league.
Cameron said he's been pleased with the Giants' effort to turn around what was a problem area for them in the past, but the Dogs present them with a difficult test.
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"They're clearly the hardest side in the competition," he said.
"All 22 (players) that roll out for their footy club every week, they all put their head over the footy so it's a good trait to have.
"We’ve definitely improved, our numbers are stacking up which is great, but you want to get to Sunday afternoon knowing that you've competed in that statistic.
"We can't have that blow out to -15 or -20, we need to be level pegging or in front in that area.
"Obviously contested ball, whoever wins that probably wins the game.
"I think it's going to be a cracking game and it's one that our boys are looking forward too, because it's an opportunity to see where we're at."