GREATER Western Sydney's high injury toll out of Sunday's clash against Collingwood could have a flow-on effect for the team's hard-running midfielders, who were starved of rotations as a result.

Coach Leon Cameron admitted he would have sore players this week after the team's interchange bench was left bare, with Phil Davis (ankle), Joel Patfull (ribs), Stephen Coniglio (shoulder) and Shane Mumford (ankle) all injured.

The Giants used just 87 of their 120 rotations as a result, with some midfielders forced to play 100 per cent of the final term as the team went down by 42 points at the MCG.   

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They now have a six-day break before facing North Melbourne at Spotless Stadium on Saturday. 

Star midfielder Dylan Shiel said he would normally go off the ground at least twice a quarter, but he had just one break in the fourth term against the Magpies. 

"It's challenging, but footy is a hard sport," Shiel told AFL.com.au.  

"I came off once and I don't think I was running too much at the end. I was a little bit tired.

"It's all about recovery now with a six-day break, so we'll rest in the bye, not next week against North Melbourne. We're coming hard." 

Five talking points: Collingwood v Greater Western Sydney

Shiel said the Giants worked hard to lock the game down in the fourth quarter and stop the Magpies' run as their own ability to cover the ground slipped away under the weight of injuries.

He said it was a lesson for the young team "to dig deep and pull through" when injuries hit.   

"It wasn't going to be a free-flowing quarter that last one, we just needed to hold tight," Shiel said.

"This is what pre-seasons are for really, moments like that where you need to stay on and grind it out. 

"I think we scored two or three goals when we had no rotations, but Collingwood was obviously able to punish us the other way." 

Shiel starred for the Giants with 34 possessions, including a purple patch in the second quarter when he won 11 possessions in a 10-minute burst to drive a three-goal run for the Giants.

The 22-year-old, who re-signed with GWS this week, said the lesson had been that the team can't afford too many passengers.

"They beat us in contested football (156-125), which was a focus we wanted win," he said.  

"We need blokes standing up when times are tough and when we're playing on the big stage.

"We just let ourselves down with our goalkicking and if we kicked a little bit straighter we might have kept ourselves in the game for longer."