Just plane drained

ISRAEL Folau is the major victim of GWS's excessive travel this season after he was ruled out again this week.

GWS

ISRAEL Folau is the major victim of GWS's excessive travel this season after he was ruled out again this week, missing the Giants' Melbourne Cricket Ground debut against fellow strugglers Melbourne on Sunday.

With an unprecedented 10 return flights in their first 12 matches, after three during the pre-season, an excessive burden has been placed on the AFL's newest team.

Folau was a late withdrawal for the Giants first game at their new home, Skoda Stadium, against Essendon in round nine, with a minor hamstring strain. However, he has now missed more than a month with what GWS sports science manager John Quinn said had become a back problem.

"There's obviously something going on there," Quinn told The Daily Telegraph yesterday. "We treated him (for a hamstring strain) and everything seemed to be going all right, there were no symptoms at all, then he had a twinge in his back."

Quinn claimed Folau could have played on Sunday but had been overlooked as a precaution.

"He'll be available next week but from a sports science point of view I think we'd be recommending a conservative return for Izzy," said Quinn. "He might not come straight back and play AFL."

The Giants' nomadic existence has seen them notch up another first.

No other team has had four different home grounds in a premiership season, with GWS hosting at ANZ Stadium, Blacktown, Canberra and Skoda Stadium in the first two months.

As the AFL takes the elite game to more venues than ever before, the Giants have played the first official game at Hobart's Blundstone Arena, Blacktown and Skoda Stadium while becoming Canberra's first true "home" team.

As a result the Giants will play 13 of their 22 matches outside of Sydney this season on top of the three they played elsewhere during the pre-season.

With the showgrounds at Sydney Olympic Park being redeveloped into a 25,000-seat stadium following the Easter Show, the Giants had six matches away in seven weeks after launching the season against the Swans at ANZ Stadium.

They played in Hobart, the one and only match for premiership points at Blacktown, Adelaide, Melbourne, Brisbane and their other home of Canberra twice.

GWS coach Kevin Sheedy claimed the constant travel was all part of the excitement for his many young players but a few of the Giants veteran recruits felt a bit differently.

"With the young blokes it doesn't matter, it's fairly exciting," Sheedy said. "Some of them hadn't been on a plane much before. It's a great experience for them.

"The older blokes it probably annoys the hell out of them."

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