GWS Giants pick veteran midfielder Ryan Griffen to step in for injured gun Josh Kelly
VETERAN midfielder Ryan Griffen has been drafted into the Greater Western Sydney squad as a replacement for injured gun Josh Kelly, who failed to recover from the knee injury he suffered last week against the Swans.
GWS
Don't miss out on the headlines from GWS. Followed categories will be added to My News.
THE GWS Giants have turned to the experience of Ryan Griffen to replace Josh Kelly, who has just fallen just short in his bid to be fit for tomorrow night’s semi-final clash with Collingwood at the MCG.
GWS coach Leon Cameron said the injured star midfielder came within a day or two of proving his fitness to take on the Magpies.
If the Giants can get past the black and whites, Cameron is confident Kelly will be fit to take on flag favourites Richmond in the grand final qualifier at the MCG the following week.
KNEE MATES: THE LONG ROAD TO FINALS
HARRY: HIMMELBERG BORN FOR BIG STAGE
“Josh is a good chance to play next week but we won’t take him in against Collingwood,” Cameron said.
“We gave him until Thursday to see how he progressed but he couldn’t quite make it.”
Griffen gets his chance after a three weeks on the sidelines due to a hamstring strain.
Cameron’s confidence in bringing back another battle hardened body has been buoyed but the success of last week where he brought back Toby Greene, Zac Williams, Matt deBoer and Brett Deledio.
Greene and Williams were close to best on ground and deBoer and Deledio played vital roles.
“We toyed with the prospect of bringing in Ryan last week but thought he needed another week,” Cameron said.
“He’s a finals player, he’s played in big games so he knows what the MCG atmosphere is like. He will come in and play his role.
“To have the four blokes come through from last week unscathed and Ryan coming in is really positive for us.
“He’s had a good three or four weeks training. He’s been great for us especially up forward and through the middle of the ground.”
The 32-year-old has played 256 games for the Western Bulldogs (202) and the Giants (54) including four preliminary finals.
Lachie Keeffe gets another chance after Cameron picked the former Collingwood key defender ahead of Harry Perryman who has been dropped.
“He’s the ultimate role player he defends tight and will take up a key defensive position down there,” Cameron said.
“The boys love having him in the team because he does everything for them and that’s all you can ask. No doubt he’s got some close mates at Collingwood, he was there for a long time. He’s played some good footy for us this year in his second stint at an AFL club.”
As well as the Magpies 22 the Giants will also be taking on the black and white army who are expected to be at least 80,000 strong.
“We know we are going to play against a fantastic footy team and a huge crowd,” Cameron said.
“We had that last year against Richmond and we fell short by a quarter. It wasn’t the crowd that got us it was the footy we needed to get better. That won’t worry our boys in fact they are really looking forward to it.”
