A knee injury has forced Greater Western Sydney forward Devon Smith out of Thursday night's AFL qualifying final against Adelaide.
And while veteran Stevie Johnson is in the Giants' 25-man squad for the Adelaide Oval fixture, coach Leon Cameron has stopped short of guaranteeing the enigmatic forward will be in the side.
"I know the interest is heightened because of his career and being a big finals player," Cameron told reporters on Wednesday.
"And where he sits over the past couple of weeks, his performances probably haven't been to the level that they needed to be at.
"And he's the first one to walk into the office and say 'look, I haven't been playing some great footy'.
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"On top of that, we know we have had to juggle his injury with his knee.
"But what I will say, whether he plays or he doesn't play, he'll be participating somewhere along the line in September action."
Cameron said if Johnson - having announced his retirement at season's end - missed selection, he would play in a trial match on Friday in Adelaide between the Giants and Crows reserves sides.
"He has put up his hand to say he wants to play (AFL) obviously because he's a proud player, so we will wait and see," Cameron said.
"But if doesn't play tomorrow night, he will play on Friday against the Adelaide two's side. He's here to play footy whether it's Thursday night or Friday."
Cameron said Smith's knee injury hadn't improved since the last home-and-away game to warrant selection.
