Giants’ recalls no gamble: Greene

ARE the planets aligning for GWS or have the Giants rolled the dice ahead of their elimination final against the Western Bulldogs?

All four inclusions for today’s do-or-die final at Giants Stadium have battled injury in recent weeks, with Toby Greene (calf), Brett Deledio (calf), Nick Haynes (fractured larynx) and Jacob Hopper (hamstring) in the line-up.

The dangers of taking underdone players into a final were highlighted by Essendon’s struggles against West Coast on Thursday night.

Deledio, in particular, appears a risky proposition given his history of calf problems, with the 32-year-old’s most recent setback after Round 21 the catalyst for his retirement at the end of the season.

Unsurprisingly, Greene is firmly of the belief that after a patchy second half of the season, things have come together just in time for the Giants.

“I don’t think those boys are coming off the injury list, we would’ve all played last week (if there was a game), so I don’t think it’s a risk at all,” Greene said. “I wasn’t surprised (about Deledio). If you see what he does day to day, it’s no surprise that he got up. He’s been training for the last two weeks, so it’s a really good effort by him.”

Deledio’s inclusion raised eyebrows, but Adam Tomlinson’s omission was equally surprising.

The key defender hasn’t missed a game in the past two seasons, but found himself out of the side along with Ian Hill, Isaac Cumming and Lachie Keeffe.