GREATER Western Sydney will settle on a ruck combination of Shane Mumford and Matt Flynn for its clash with Brisbane rather than rotating the role between the big men.
Mumford and Flynn will pair up against the Lions on Saturday night, just as they did for the first time when the Giants took on West Coast and its star ruckman Nic Naitanui last weekend.
The combination of youth and experience worked well against the Eagles and helped to limit the impact of Naitanui, as the Giants won the stoppage clearances 28 to 21. Flynn was also able to push forward and kick two goals in the 16-point win.
The Giants are now confident the duo can have a similar influence against the Lions and their rucks Oscar McInerney and Joe Daniher.
"What we did like on the weekend is that combination of Mumford and Flynn," GWS coach Leon Cameron told reporters on Thursday.
"We reduced Mumford's game time down to about 65 per cent and gave Flynny a great opportunity and he played some really good footy.
"We also like what [Kieren] Briggs did [in his round nine debut]. We feel as though over the next 12 weeks, these guys are going to be coming in and out and given opportunity to play ruck. Whether we play two or one will be determined on the opposition but equally how it's working for us."
Cameron admitted to being surprised by how much impact Mumford has had this season and how regularly he has been able to play.
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The 34-year-old veteran has played in five matches this year, all of them victories for the Giants.
But the Giants haven't been able to win without Mumford in the line-up, so Cameron is exploring ways to have him available for more than just the two consecutive games that he has been able to play at most this season.
"Mummy screws his guts up and he goes again. It's a six-day break, and no doubt he'll go into the game a little bit sore, but he just has this amazing way to keep on competing," Cameron said.
"We know he's a competitor, we know we can bring him in for a couple of weeks and then he's so sore he can't get up for the third week, that's the trend at the moment.
"McInerney is a great ruck for Brisbane, and with Daniher they have a good combination, so we're going to have to be on our toes."
The Giants are set to field an undersized backline against the Lions with key defender Sam Taylor the latest to be sidelined for the injury-stricken club.
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With Phil Davis and Lachie Keeffe also missing, the Giants will consider moving one of their tall forwards to defence to support the likes of Nick Haynes and Jack Buckley in taking on Daniher, Eric Hipwood and Daniel McStay.
"[Taylor] has had a wonderful year. He's probably in All-Australian contention as one of those key backs, so they're hard to replace," Cameron said.
"They are big with Hipwood and Daniher that sit over the 200cm mark. It'll be a collective approach and adding flavour to that might be a forward, but … I've got to be careful of taking that apart too much just to fix the backline.
"We'll be undersized regardless, it doesn't matter, but we've just got to make sure we bring the ball to the ground."
