GREATER Western Sydney star Lachie Whitfield is set to give his side a boost for Sunday's clash with Brisbane at Giants Stadium after recovering from a broken collarbone.
Whitfield was injured in the Giants' big win over Gold Coast in round 11 and had surgery the following week, ruling him out of the past three matches either side of the club's mid-year bye round.
The 2018 club champion and All Australian defender looked on track to repeat that stellar season while playing as a high half-forward, until he was hurt by a bump from Suns co-captain David Swallow.
The inclusion of one of the game's most influential players would be massive for GWS against a fellow top-eight contender.
Whitfield started contact work on Saturday and will increase his training loads this week in a bid to face the Lions, and coach Leon Cameron is confident his gun runner will be ready to go if he gets through Thursday's main session.
"We feel as they he's fully recovered, and we've given him the extra week, so barring any mishaps we expect him to come in," he said on Tuesday.
"As I said when he went out he's a brave player, so we've got to make sure that part of his game is intact for him.
"He'll want to come back and tackle well and put his head over the footy, which he always does, and be able to absorb that."
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The Giants' disappointing loss to Essendon last week, after being 19 points up midway through the final term, cost them a chance to move into second place on the ladder behind Geelong.
That result could prove crucial to the club's hopes of securing home-field advantage throughout the finals, especially considering their tough run of games coming up.
After facing the Lions on Sunday, GWS will face Richmond (away), Collingwood (home), Port Adelaide (away) and Sydney (home).
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The five-game stretch will likely determine the Giants' finishing position on the ladder and in turn their premiership hopes, but Cameron said he remains confident in where his team sits.
"There's still a huge amount (of footy) to play this season, I mean there's still eight weeks to go," he said.
"I understand that the jostling of spots on the ladder is going to be intriguing for everyone, because ultimately everyone is trying to get into the eight to play finals at the end of the year.
"We understand the tough draw we've got ahead, starting with Brisbane who are on equal points as us.
"They've had a great year and are an in-form side of the competition and they've had some really good wins this year.
"We're under no illusions that it's an A-grade, cracking clash on Sunday, and we've got to play a really good brand of footy to give ourselves a chance to continue on this season."
