FAMILY heartbreak has taught Greater Western Sydney veteran Brett Deledio a lot about life this year.
It's also showed him that the constant battles he's faced with his own body over the past two seasons at the Giants, carry little significance in the grand scheme of things.
In January, Deledio's sister-in-law Sara Chivers lost her long-running battle with brain cancer at just 34 years of age, a horrific blow given her infant son Alfie was also fighting a different form of the disease.
After rallying around his wife Katie and her brother Leigh, Sara's husband, Deledio returned from Melbourne and played some of his best footy across the first six rounds of the season.
But a minor hamstring issue surfaced after the Giants' win over Brisbane in round six which cost him four games, and when he was set to return to the field, he pinged a calf at a Saturday morning running session.
Deledio thought he was at a low point, until just over a week later, and little more than two months after his second birthday, Alfie tragically passed away.
He's missed the past 10 games, not that any of that is on his mind ahead of his return against Port Adelaide this week.
"When you've got little injuries, they seem big at the time, and when I was younger it would have been the end of the world to miss so much footy," he said on Friday.
"I was devastated to be missing games again, but we had some serious illnesses in the family and were dealing with saying goodbye to people, so a calf injury was the least of my worries.
"To put it in perspective, I'm just grateful to be able to live and breathe.
"To get back out there and play footy is something I'm thankful for each and every day."
It was Deledio's wretched run with calf and Achilles problems last year that caused GWS medical staff to be extremely cautious when he felt some tightness in his hamstring against the Lions.
But the 31-year-old said that being wrapped in cotton wool may have contributed to his latest calf blowout.
"The hamstring injury was only a minor thing, it happened in the third quarter and I played out the rest of the game," he said.
"I probably should have just sucked it up and tried to push through, but I think because the whole competition was suffering from little hamstring nicks here and there, we took it really easy.
"We tried to look after my body and that probably cost me some continuity with (loading) my calves and Achilles.
"Hindsight is a beautiful thing."
Deledio comes back into the senior side - after a successful outing in the NEAFL last week - at an ideal time with fellow veteran Ryan Griffen (hamstring) missing the match, and his experience will be vital against the Power.
The former Richmond star didn't get to face his old side in round 17 but said it was pleasing to see the Giants' form stand up against the benchmark team of the competition, and they'll need to bring the same intensity against Port.
"We'll take a lot of confidence from that game but also our last four or five weeks, when we've strung together some good performances," he said.
"It's a big game over there on their home deck, we know there'll probably be 50,000 people there, and they'll be looking to bounce back.
"It's a huge challenge but we've faced a few of those over the past few weeks so we're not shying away from it, that’s for sure."
