Shaw backs tough guy Whitfield to take on Tigers
GWS’S tough, “skinny little runt” Lachie Whitfield is on course to play in Saturday’s Grand Final, while today looms as a crunch day for teammate Stephen Coniglio.
Giants general manger of football Wayne Campbell expects co-captain Phil Davis to play after experiencing calf tightness and says Coniglio will assess whether he has done enough work after missing nine matches with a knee injury and Whitfield is back running after having appendix surgery last Wednesday.
“He (Whitfield) is up and moving. He had a run around today so, without any significant hurdles between now and then, he will play on Saturday,” Campbell said.
Lightly framed Whitfield, who can play in several positions, sometimes gets protection from his teammates and Heath Shaw suggested that might be the case on Saturday.
“I think there will be an element of that but he is a good player,” Shaw said.
“He does get targeted because he is a good player but Lachie is very tough for a skinny little runt.
“He’s one of the toughest players I’ve played with and he just pushes through pain and he won’t complain.
“He’ll keep going after it, and that’s why we love him and that’s why we rate him so highly as a player.”
Campbell suggested the call on Coniglio would come down to the player himself, who recently signed a sevenyear contract extension.
“He’ll train tomorrow and we’ll see how that goes,” he said.
“We would never put pressure on him, he’ll almost make the call I reckon as to whether he’s done the work.”
Shaw also had faith in Coniglio to make the right call for the team.
Key defender Davis did not do much yesterday, but Campbell was not too concerned about the calf tightness, which comes from his back and he has experienced before.