THERE are some milestones in the AFL that just hit different.

When you've been part of actually establishing a club, rather than just trying to build a team, like Toby Greene has across his 250 games, it becomes one of those occasions that carry extra significance.

That is not lost on Lachie Whitfield, who joined Greater Western Sydney just one season after Greene and is only five games shy of reaching the 250-game mark himself.

They have matured from teenagers trying to find their way in a new city to premium stars of the competition, from skinny AFL prodigies to seasoned finals campaigners who will only be fully satisfied once all is said and done and with premiership glory.

It's that journey that Whitfield reflects on, as he looks to provide his captain with a milestone to remember against Carlton in Melbourne on Saturday.

"Your maturity levels are obviously always changing. When we were both 18 and 19, you're getting pumped by 100 points every week, and the most important part of your weekend was what nightclub were you going to that night," Whitfield told AFL.com.au.

"Those first few years were more about fitting in among a whole new group of mates and gelling those friendships. And then you roll into your early 20s where you start to get some games in, and you find a little bit of consistency.

"All of a sudden, you're deep in finals campaigns, so that level of maturity definitely improves quickly.

"And then, in the blink of an eye, Toby's captain."

It is that unique pathway for the stars who were on board from the club's infancy and have stayed loyal that has established the soul of Greater Western Sydney.

It is the tale laid out to the next crop of Giants and the one they hope will be the magical element of a premiership breakthrough one day.

"Especially to the younger guys coming through now. They ask what the club was like when we were coming up and you tell those stories," Whitfield said.

"That's a way for us to reflect on helping build what's been a really good system and, Toby's obviously been at the heart of that.

"It's not like we're breaking any sort of new formula, that's what every club is chasing (a flag).

"But having been there from the start and having built the foundations, that's obviously something we need to obtain. We need to be part of the first ever Giants premiership team."

After four losses in their past five games, the Giants' premiership stocks have taken a fair dip.

Kuwarna and Walyalup have delivered the blueprint on how to beat them in recent weeks by starving them of the corridor and focusing intently on disrupting their run off half-back.

Coach Adam Kingsley's biggest challenge yet is finding a way to either break through that, or develop a strong enough plan to counter it.

"It's something we've been juggling with all year. Our back half turnover is quite high in relevance to the rest of the competition. And often that's because opposition teams do scout and that's where a lot of our good ball movement comes from. It's something we're continuously working on and trying to improve," Whitfield said.

"I think once we get that right along with our midfield contest, we should be fine."

If they can find a way to bust through that high opposition press and get some of their sidelined midfield guns back, the Giants will likely rocket back into flag calculations.

But as they've learned in recent years, making the most of that opportunity should it present itself is another matter.

"Throughout the last six to eight years, there's been multiple occasions where I was confident that we were the best team in a given year. But there's other teams that say the same thing. It's so hard to win a Grand Final," Whitfield said.

"You're always going to have doubts but if you just show up every week and be consistent in that drive to get better, that's all you can really do to just give yourself a chance of getting there. And then once you get there, you've just got to take that chance."

A source of confidence for GWS has been its recent performances in milestone games with a win in Greene's 200th away to Geelong in 2023 one of the prime examples.

That will be a theme for its clash against the Blues as it tries to engineer another backs-to-the-wall victory amid its litany of midfield injuries.

"I think we'll definitely draw on it. You do want to play well for him, and you just want him to enjoy it and win with his with his family there and all of his best mates," Whitfield said.

"That shouldn’t change how hard you play from week to week, but there's a little bit of more incentive to really dig in and get the win for him.

"Toby wears his heart on his sleeve when he's out there on the field, and he's a little bit more reserved off it.

"He's been a great captain over the last few years and obviously a great player over the last decade, probably the best medium-sized forward in the game over the last decade."

It was as a midfielder that Greene started out on his AFL journey and with Finn Callaghan, Josh Kelly, Stephen Coniglio and Brent Daniels all sidelined, he'll likely go back in time to try and spark the Giants' engine room in his 250th game.

"I think he'd have to be a chance. I reckon he'll put the boys on his shoulders again this week," Whitfield said.