INJURY-HIT Greater Western Sydney has another fitness concern ahead of Saturday’s clash with the Western Bulldogs, with midfield star Finn Callaghan failing to train on Thursday as he battles soreness.

The 22-year-old, who finished second in the Giants' club champion award last year, remains more likely than not to take on the Bulldogs, but his coach Adam Kingsley conceded it’s no guarantee after he missed a chunk of the pre-season with a hip problem.

"We'll see how he recovers later on today, tomorrow, before we make a call.  And if he's not right, we're not going to play him. I think there's a minor doubt on him," Kingsley said.

"He's pulled up really sore. He didn't play any practice matches and he played over 100 minutes in that Hawthorn game.

"So, he's managing some soreness at the moment. We thought it best not to train him and just to try and freshen him up a little bit. But I'd expect he'd be okay."

The concern over Callaghan adds to the litany of injury problems facing the Giants, headlined by Tom Green, Sam Taylor, Brent Daniels, Aaron Cadman, Josh Kelly and Toby Bedford.

But the Giants showed an ability to overcome the big-name absentees in their impressive 27-point win over the Hawks with defensive duo Jayden Laverde and Joe Fonti shining to help cover the huge void of two-time All-Australian in Taylor.

It’s an encouraging sign as they - alongside Jack Buckley, Connor Idun and Harry Himmelberg - try to quell the influence of Dogs superstars Sam Darcy and Aaron Naughton this week.

Fonti, in particular, impressed in what was just his 23rd AFL game with a career-best 22 touches, 11 of which were intercept possessions – the second highest total on the ground behind only James Sicily.

The 21-year-old West Australian looms as a draft steal at pick no.44 from the 2023 draft with his calmness and pace a standout since his debut.

"There's speed, there's composure, there's a toughness about him," Kingsley said of Fonti.

"They're great qualities for a half-back. I think he's quicker than (Lachie) Whitfield, but I think Whitfield has that sort of composure and toughness that not a lot have in that position so I see them as probably the traits that will help him become an outstanding player in the competition in that role.

"And with his running capacity and speed maybe there's some other roles that we can potentially introduce him to as his career wears on."

Without Bedford, who has been the Giants' prime tagging option in recent seasons, Kingsley admitted he may have to call on other names to try and sit on Dogs aces Marcus Bontempelli and Ed Richards should they start to wreak havoc.

Harry Rowston and Xavier O’Halloran may be required to do that job as well as contributing to a midfield that will still be adjusting to life without Green.

Kieren Briggs' impressive seven-clearance display against the Hawks certainly helped beef up the Giants' onball output, but Kingsley is aware this week’s match-up against Tim English is an entirely different proposition altogether.

"I just want him to compete against Tim English whose first game [for the year] and even his practice match were outstanding games for a ruckman. He's an extra midfielder for them," Kingsley said.

"Briggs has probably had mixed results against him in the past. So it'll be a great battle.

"I think we've seen that over the last three and a half years now that when Briggs gets his hand on the ball and is able to generate some territory for us, we're a better midfield,."

The Giants' trip to Marvel to take on the Dogs will be the first since their 88-point hammering there at the end of last season, their heaviest defeat since the 2019 Grand Final.

"In the past, their contest and stoppage game has been really strong against us, particularly last time we played, I think the contest might have been minus 50 plus which is embarrassing quite frankly," Kingsley said.

"So, we're hopeful that we can turn that around."