A "minor" brain bleed for Heath Shaw and injuries to young midfield stars Stephen Coniglio and Adam Treloar have shorn Greater Western Sydney of three key players for Sunday's imposing AFL challenge against high-flying Fremantle in Perth.
Treloar (groin) and Coniglio (broken thumb) were hurt in last weekend's home loss to Adelaide.
Coniglio's injury could rule him out for most, if not all, of the remainder of the Giants' campaign, while Treloar might just miss the one game.
Shaw suffered concussion against Sydney the round before last, when he ran into the knee of Swans forward Kurt Tippett.
While Shaw's concussion has cleared, Giants coach Leon Cameron said the back would miss at least the Giants' next two games and not play until after the bye, due to a "very minor bleed" to the brain detected after the Swans game.
The former Collingwood defender, who has had a strong first season with GWS, has been checked by specialists in Sydney and Melbourne.
"Heath's welfare comes first so we've got to be really, really careful on how he's progressing," Cameron said.
"He's starting to progress really well now. He ran today which is great.
"He's upbeat - he's confident he can come back and play some good footy after the bye."
Cameron was optimistic midfield prime movers Treloar and Coniglio, who are the Giants' first and third-highest possession getters, could be adequately replaced.
"Adam is having a terrific year and Stephen's last month has been fantastic," Cameron said.
"But like anything, it's a great opportunity for Jono O'Rourke or a Jacob Townsend who have been knocking on the door for about seven or eight weeks and haven't been able to get in there.
"The guys playing at NEAFL level - in terms of Lachie Plowman, Matt Buntine, O'Rourke, Townsend - have been really putting their names up each week and we're confident they can come in and play a role."
Share
