Greater Western Sydney could unleash two wrecking-ball ruckmen in Sunday's AFL match against West Coast, with Dawson Simpson on the cusp of a club debut.
The Giants' injury crisis, coupled with some stoppage concerns in recent last-gasp wins, have coach Leon Cameron mulling a call-up for Simpson.
Simpson played the most recent of his 28 AFL games with Geelong almost two years ago.
He joined GWS as an unrestricted free agent at the end of 2015,
Weighing in at 109kg and standing 210cm, Simpson is even more of a behemoth than teammate Shane Mumford.
Big man Rory Lobb is one of GWS's two enforced omissions this week because of a groin injury, meaning Simpson could make the trip to Perth for the top-four tussle against the Eagles.
"Dawson is in really good form and he really deserves an opportunity to play AFL footy again," Cameron said on Thursday.
"He's put his hand up. We're considering two big rucks.
"Our stoppages are a little bit down at the moment. We're winning clearances OK but we're not scoring, so we'll look at all options.
"Dawson is one of those. He's played some really good footy at lower level and he's a really tall, aggressive ruckman."
Cameron added Mumford pulled up well despite an increased workload against Richmond.
Harry Himmelberg could also play in place of Lobb, while Matthew Kennedy is set to claim the spot in the side vacated by Steve Johnson.
Cameron admitted Johnson's knee was sore last week and the veteran, who was carefully managed through pre-season because of the issue, should not have played against the Tigers.
"We rolled the dice with him last week," he said.
"That knee is just getting pretty bad at the moment, so he's probably going to be out for one or two weeks.
"That's life, that's what we have to deal with. If we had a couple of other guys that were ready to play AFL footy, we probably would have gone down a different path."
Stephen Coniglio, Devon Smith, Ryan Griffen, Brett Deledio, Nick Haynes, Matt Buntine, Adam Kennedy, Jacob Hopper and Tendai Mzungu are all unavailable because of long-term setbacks.
Cameron suggested Johnson would return when he is fit, noting the club did not have the luxury of waiting until after the mid-season bye because of the long injury list.
"Where we're at and what our form is like in our ones, I don't think we're in a position to rest any players."
Share
