GREATER Western Sydney defender Heath Shaw took his own footy to Spotless Stadium the last time he faced the Western Bulldogs in round nine, ending up with 36 kicks, 14 marks, 14 rebound 50s, and nine bounces.

However, he knows there'll be no free-range footy this week as the visitors attempt to cage the All Australian in Saturday's preliminary final.

Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge said after that May clash that he had thought about tagging Shaw, but opted to stay true to his forward set up, a decision that cost his side dearly in the 25-point loss.

The Dogs have used big man Zaine Cordy to act as a defensive forward in their two finals so far, and will likely ask Clay Smith, Toby McLean or Tory Dickson to act as Shaw's shadow this week.

Shaw, who led the league for kicks and rebound 50s for the second straight season in 2016, told a packed media room at the Giants' home ground on Wednesday that he'd learnt to deal with the attention that came with being the game's best rebounding defender.

"I expect that most weeks – if someone comes to me, they do, and I just play my game," he said.

"It means they're thinking about me rather than the rest of the team, so I'll take that.

"It's annoying at the start when someone is following you around and bumping you all day, but it's all about a full team focus.

"You can't go into your shell, you can't let it worry you; you just play footy and do what's best for the team.

"At the end of the day, one person isn't going to win the game, it's everyone together.

"I'm sure they'll look at trying to limit that to some degree, but they probably don't want to go away from what works best for them.

"Their forward line is pretty dangerous, so all of our backs have got to be on their toes, including me, and try and nullify their set up."

Shaw told AFL.com.au moments after winning the club champion award just over 12 months ago that any GWS player who didn't bring a ruthless attitude to strive for finals success wasn't welcome at the club.

A year on, the 2010 Collingwood premiership hero said the hunger he sees in his teammates is exactly what he was after.

Callan Ward at Giants training on Wednesday. Picture: Getty Images

"It's amazing where they've come from to get here," he said.

"This team is dedicated and committed to playing and winning finals, and that's the thing that’s driven us throughout the year.

"It seemed like throughout this year when there were big games on the line, against quality opposition, they rose to the occasion.

"The way we went about things (in the qualifying final) against the Swans gave us a lot of confidence and we're confident we can beat anyone."

Shaw said the Giants were well aware of the intensity the Dogs would bring on Saturday.

"We know what we're going to get from the Bulldogs, they're a hard unit," he said.

"It's going to be tough, they've been underdogs the last two weeks and they've managed to produce some really, really good victories.

"Their belief is sky-high and so is ours, and it's going to be a cracking game."

The Giants smashed the Swans two weeks ago at ANZ Stadium, winning the tackle count 96 to 64, with several fiery clashes erupting during the first half.

GWS forward Steve Johnson copped a one-match suspension for a high shot on star Swan Josh Kennedy, but Shaw denied his team had been too focused on the man, and vowed to bring that intensity again when they face the Dogs.

"We play our best footy when we're aggressive at the ball and aggressive at the man," he said.

"I don't know if we crossed the line, sometimes these things happen.

"Hopefully we can do the right thing by Stevie (Johnson) and win, and put him straight into a grand final."