GREATER Western Sydney will wait to see how Stephen Coniglio trains on Wednesday before deciding whether to recall its captain for its last-round clash with St Kilda.
LADDER PREDICTOR Can your team make the eight?
The Giants finals hopes – although unlikely – remain alive if they can overcome the Saints this week, but they remain undecided if they will select Coniglio after the skipper was stunningly dropped last week.
"We train today and no doubt he'll be considered heavily. He was a bit banged up and the rest will hold him in good stead," coach Leon Cameron said on Wednesday.
"We're looking forward to seeing him train like everyone and then after that we'll make that decision. I haven't got that answer for you yet.
"Clearly it was a really tough decision last week, but he's the first one to put up his hand and say he was out of form. He could have wallowed around in pity and 'woe is me' but one thing that I really love about 'Cogs' is his character.
ROUND 18 Check out the full fixture
"He's front and square in all of our meetings, he joined us in the box on the weekend and that's why he's going to be a very, very good captain of the footy club. He'll bounce back."
The Giants will focus on Coniglio's movement and decision-making before making the selection call.
Cameron said he "absolutely" stands by the decision to omit the 26-year-old, despite the Giants' tight five-point loss to Melbourne last week with a top-eight spot on the line.
BARRETT Rivals will come calling after Coniglio's humiliation
"I understand the captaincy holds a significant weight, so that decision last week was one of the hardest decisions for match committee to make – it's not just myself, it's the whole match committee," he said.
THE LADDER Where is your team sitting?
"But I don't look back on it and say 'I wish I would have changed that now' because we got beaten by five points.
"When you win and lose in this business, when you win everything's rosy and everyone thinks you're fantastic and when you lose that's the way it is. You've got to accept the criticism and we lost a game we should have won.
"But Tom Green came into the team and played a magnificent game and so did Jack Buckley."
It has been a tumultuous week for the club, with defender Aidan Corr quitting the Giants to explore his free agency options. Corr, who is tipped to join North Melbourne, has left the club's hub on the Gold Coast, after informing Cameron of his decision earlier this week.
Corr would have likely missed the end of the season with an ankle injury and has returned home to Sydney before embarking on a move back to Melbourne.
WHO'S MOVING? All the latest trade and contract news
"When he came to me a couple of nights ago I was disappointed and shocked, but he made that call. As hard as that may be, that's what's happened and from there we kicked into gear and he's headed back home to Sydney," Cameron said.
The Giants, who still have star free agents Jeremy Cameron and Zac Williams who remain out of contract heading into the off-season, had a strong meeting in the wake of Corr's decision about sticking with the club.
"I thought our players handled it really, really well," the coach said.
"They were probably a bit shocked like myself and the other coaches. We've been working feverishly throughout the year to secure his services and it hasn't gone our way."
