Are the planets aligning for GWS or have the Giants rolled the dice ahead of their elimination final against the Western Bulldogs?

All four inclusions for Saturday’s do-or-die final at Giants Stadium have battled injury in recent weeks, with Toby Greene (calf), Brett Deledio (calf), Nick Haynes (fractured larynx) and Jacob Hopper (hamstring) coming into the line-up.

The dangers of taking underdone players into a final were highlighted by Essendon’s struggles against West Coast on Thursday night.

Deledio, in particular, appears a risky proposition given his history of calf problems, with the 32-year-old’s most recent setback after round 21 the catalyst for his retirement at the end of the season.

Unsurprisingly, Greene is firmly of the belief that after a patchy second half of the season, things have come together just in time for the Giants’ finals assault.

“I don’t think those boys are coming off the injury list, we would’ve all played last week (if there was a game), so I don’t think it’s a risk at all,” Greene told reporters on Friday.

“I wasn’t surprised (about Deledio) … he does a lot right during the week and he gave himself every chance.

“If you see what he does day to day, it’s no surprise that he got up. He’s been training for the last two weeks, so it’s a really good effort by him.”

Deledio’s inclusion raised eyebrows, but Adam Tomlinson’s omission was equally surprising.

The key defender hasn’t missed a game in the past two seasons, but found himself out of the side along with Ian Hill, Isaac Cumming and Lachie Keeffe.

The Dogs stuck with the same line-up that dispatched Adelaide in Ballarat, veterans Tory Dickson and Jackson Trengove unable to force their way in.

Luke Beveridge’s men will be hoping for a repeat of their stunning 2016 preliminary final win over GWS at the same venue, which was the precursor to their drought-breaking premiership.

The Dogs are the form team of the competition, winning seven of their past nine games, and will also take the confidence of their round-22 demolition of the Giants into the clash.

“It’s a different game now … we earnt the opportunity to play a home final and whatever happened in the last six weeks doesn’t really matter now,” Greene said.

“… It was really disappointing how we finished off that game (in round 22) but I think we’re in a position to change that around.”