GREATER Western Sydney will have a new coach in its ranks for the rest of the season via injured ruckman Shane Mumford.
Mumford's second year with the Giants was cut short last month following surgery on an injured ankle suffered in the round 11 loss to Collingwood.
The 29-year-old on Monday admitted to being frustrated at watching his teammates bid for a maiden finals berth from the sidelines, so has vowed to help develop understudies Rory Lobb and Tom Downie.
"If I'm going to be laying around doing six months of rehab, I need to be doing something to keep my mind active and busy," Mumford, still in a moon boot and on crutches, told AAP on Monday.
"To help these young guys and progress them along, it's obviously beneficial for the team and beneficial for me.
"I'm going to take more of a role in getting involved with going over their vision from the weekend and trying help them with things they could be doing differently.
"It's something I might want to do after football, so to get a taste of trying to do a bit of ruck coaching now, it could be very handy for me."
The run home: Will the Giants play finals?
Lobb and Downie have played just 10 AFL games between them - 118 fewer than Mumford - but have racked up two wins in their past two matches against St Kilda and Gold Coast.
The victories have pushed the Giants to seventh on the ladder. They host Geelong in Canberra on Saturday.
Mumford lauded the efforts of the inexperienced young pair, suggesting he might have a tough time getting back into the side next season when he's back to full fitness.
"We've had all these guys playing in (reserves) all year that have been fighting to get their chance - and to Rory and Tom's credit, they've got their chance now and have both grabbed a hold of it," he said.
"They probably surprised a few people with how well they actually are doing.
"They're kicking more goals than I did all season - even with Rory's funny run-up, he still manages to put them through.
"It just shows that we can cover key guys when they do go down and that's exciting for the future really, to have these young guys step in.
"I'm just hoping I can get my spot back in the team when I am right to go."
Meanwhile, the Giants are hoping to secure a match against Richmond in Canberra next season as they push to bring the AFL's biggest clubs to the nation's capital.
Giants CEO David Matthews on Monday met with ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr to discuss the 2016 draw and which three premiership games they'll play at Star Track Oval as part of their 10-year agreement.
Saturday's crunch clash with Geelong will mark their biggest fixture in the ACT, with a top-eight berth on the line and almost all tickets sold.
The Giants played Gold Coast and Melbourne in Canberra earlier this year, and the Western Bulldogs, North Melbourne and Port Adelaide in 2014.
Matthews said he won't be seeking to host the Suns next year after a disappointing turnout for their dominant 66-point win in round four, with his sights set on bigger fish.
"We'd love to see a club like Richmond, who's heavily supported, who is successful in building on the field,” the chief executive said.
"Next year it'll be our turn to have them back into a home fixture and I'm sure that they'd support an opportunity to come to Canberra and develop their fanbase as well."
Matthews said the key to getting big clubs to the ACT was big crowds, and hoped this weekend's match would go some way to proving that.
