GREATER Western Sydney star Jesse Hogan has failed to recover from his foot problem for Saturday's crunch encounter with Gold Coast in a further blow to GWS' forward stocks.

The reigning Coleman medallist was absent from the Giants main training session on Thursday and with Jake Stringer already missing due to a hamstring problem, it's a significant setback for GWS ahead of a game with huge finals implications.

"It's not ideal but it is what it is. Next man in and they've got to play their role ahead of the ball and challenge their opponent as best they can," Giants coach Adam Kingsley said.

"He's (Hogan) still got pain in that foot so we'll continue to manage him and cross our fingers and hope he's right for St Kilda (in round 24)."

In more encouraging news for the Giants, gun defender Jack Buckley trained fully and is an outside chance to return from a calf problem ahead of schedule.

The clash with the Suns is undoubtedly the biggest between the AFL's two newest clubs with the Giants playing for their finals life and the Suns looking to win a top-four spot and first ever finals appearance.

The highlight will likely be an on-ball showdown as Tom Green and Finn Callaghan go head-to-head with Matt Rowell and Noah Anderson in arguably the best midfield duel for players under 25.

"I expect they'll be battling against each other for a long period of time. That battle is going to be really pivotal to the game. Four stars going at it, it's going to be good to watch," Kingsley said.

With the Suns strength in the midfield and around stoppages being such a critical part of their dramatic improvement and concern for the Giants, Kingsley has hinted that Toby Bedford may be set to reprise his tagging role on one of Anderson or Rowell.

"There's a chance. Anderson had more than 40 possessions last time (they played the Giants), Rowell was really good, (Touk) Miller was really strong so we have a few options."

The high stakes for this game may be new territory for the Suns, but it's something the Giants have grown accustomed to.

With several big wins on the road in the lead-in to September over the last few years, it may have them better placed than their rivals to deal with the pressure of the situation.

"We have been in this position before, 2023 was almost identical albeit with a couple of less wins. Which is a strange position to be in, still fighting for a spot in the eight," Kingsley said.

"A team is going to miss the eight this year and be incredibly unlucky. We're desperate for it not to be us and our experience in these situations may help us," Kingsley said.

Kingsley also confirmed his interest in bringing former Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin onto his coaching staff for next season.

Goodwin's partner has strong work ties in Sydney and with the soft cap lifting for next season, luring him to the Giants is a viable option.

"If there's an opportunity to get a premiership coach to our footy club then we'll explore all avenues to achieve that," Kingsley said.

"While in the short term we don't have a role, there's nothing ruling out creating that for someone of that quality."