GWS have repeated their bold AFL elimination final selection policy of a year ago, bringing back four players for their sudden death clash with Western Bulldogs.
Nick Haynes and Brett Deledio were the latest experienced personnel to be cleared for Saturday’s match at Giants Stadium, joining Toby Greene and Jacob Hopper, who were passed fit earlier this week.
The quartet offer a combined 600 games worth of experience, 12 months after the Giants adopted a similar strategy.
Deledio, Greene and Matt de Boer were brought back for the first stage of the 2018 finals series after they all missed the three previous games.
Remarkably, Zac Williams also played his first match of the season in the knockout win over the Swans at the SCG.
Key defender Haynes, who suffered a throat injury following a clash with Bulldogs star Marcus Bontempelli in round 22, was cleared by his specialist on Thursday.
“(Haynes) trained fully on Wednesday and pulled up really well today, he’s done everything he could to put his hand up to play this game,” said Giants coach Leon Cameron.
Deledio, who has already announced he will retire at the end of the season, has battled back from his latest calf injury, an ailment that has marred his thre-year stint in Sydney.
He experienced a similar lead-up to last year’s elimination final when he missed the last three three home and away rounds .
“It was only a really minor calf this time around but, as always, we made sure we were cautious with his return,” Cameron said.
“He once again applied himself diligently to his rehab and he’s proven his ability to perform on a big stage straight after a few weeks out.”
The one surprising omission was experienced utility Adam Tomlinson, who was left out alongside Isaac Cumming, Bobby Hill and Lachie Keeffe.
“It was a really tough match committee this week which is probably a good problem to have,” Cameron said.
“The guys who have gone out can probably count themselves unlucky.”