Behind the eight-ball in the AFL pre-season, dashing GWS GIants defender Nathan Wilson is back to add some run and rebound against Gold Coast on Saturday.
Wilson enjoyed a breakout year in 2016, playing in a career-high 21 games for the season and was third highest in metres gained for his club.
The speedy 24-year-old from Western Australia combined with Zac Williams and Heath Shaw to give GWS plenty of drive out of the back half.
However, he had hip issues late in the season and had surgery on both after the Giants' maiden finals campaign.
"It wasn't more in the game, it was more after the game that I was feeling sore," Wilson told AAP. "I felt it some parts of the game, but it wasn't too extreme.
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"Straight after the Bulldogs (preliminary final) game last year, I flew down to Melbourne and got double hip surgery, so I was behind in the eight-ball in pre-season.
"I knew it was going to put me back, but I've worked quite hard in the last four to five weeks.
He will be part of a Giants back line trying to curb the threats posed by a multi-faceted Suns attack
Gold Coast boast height and marking power in Tom Lynch and Peter Wright and a bevy of mobile small forwards.
"They've got a very good nippy forward line in guys like Ben Ainsworth, Callum Ah Chee and Jack Martin and they've got talls," Wilson said.
'Tommy Lynch is in the top couple in the AFL in contested marking so we've got a big task on our hands, but our back seven or eight are up to the challenge."
