THE CLOCK is ticking for Greater Western Sydney coach Leon Cameron, who says he is yet to settle on an early-season replacement for suspended superstar Toby Greene.

Greene will watch the first five rounds from the boundary line after losing his appeal for intentional contact with an umpire in the Giants' elimination final win over Sydney last season.

Cameron, who is also dealing with the off-season departure of Jeremy Finlayson to Port Adelaide, says the make-up of his forward line is still a work in progress.

Does he go with three tall forwards? Or two? And how does he replace the gaping chasm left by the absence of his co-captain.

"You can't replace him. You can't wave a magic wand and replace Toby Greene," Cameron told AFL.com.au.

"He's a wonderful player, he's a superstar of the competition and it's disappointing we don’t have him for the first five weeks."

Cameron said February was a "huge month" on trialling different scenarios and combinations, with the Giants' next match simulation happening on Monday.

One player set to start the season is luckless forward Jesse Hogan, who kicked 20 goals from nine games in 2021, and is being nursed through the early part of pre-season.

Cameron said Greene's absence would open the door for Jake Riccardi, former West Coast utility Jarrod Brander and smaller forwards Daniel Lloyd, Bobby Hill and Matt de Boer to lock down a spot.

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He said the hardest thing for Greene was missing matches.

"The one thing is it's honest, honest conversations … about learning what went wrong and what goes right," Cameron said.

"Also maintaining what he's really, really good at. You can always focus on what he's bad at, we know he's made a mistake, but equally he's done a lot right."

Cameron said Hogan was progressing nicely through the pre-season and would ramp up his intensity over the coming month.

"He can't run around like a first-year player and do every session," he said.

"Fingers crossed we get a faultless February with him.

"If we look back on 2022 and Jesse Hogan can play 18 to 20 games, clearly that's a great result for us because when he's out there he provides something unique, and that's a contested marking target ahead of the footy, which are very hard to come by."