Greater Western Sydney are confident defender Matt Buntine will not have a lengthy absence from football after his latest concussion.
The courageous backman is missing this weekend's clash with Adelaide after last week suffering his third concussion since July, but the Giants believe he will be sidelined for only the one game.
Buntine passed his Cogstate concussion test, fuelling hopes he would return this week but the Giants opted for caution due to the 22-year-old's medical history and the six-day break.
"He's feeling a lot better but we're not taking any risks, we expect him to be available next week," Giants coach Leon Cameron said.
Buntine spoke of his "daunting" experience last year when he was sent for brain scans after a second concussion in two weeks. It forced him out of the game for more than a month and made it difficult for him to perform simple day-to-day tasks such as driving.
"I took a new look on football. It's important but not worth my brain and ruining my future years post-footy," Buntine told Fairfax Media in August. "I was never frightened about coming back because I was pretty good but it has put life into perspective."
The Giants made one other change to the side which defeated the Western Bulldogs, leaving out backman Tim Mohr – who hurt his hamstring in his first senior game since 2014.
In come Jack Steele and Adam Tomlinson, while captain Phil Davis has been given another week to recover from his hamstring issue. Tomlinson returns after an eye-popping 52 possessions in the NEAFL. Although a forward by trade, he is likely to be needed in defence against either Taylor Walker or Josh Jenkins.
Steele, 20, returns after only one game in the seconds, though Cameron said he was unlucky to be left out last week.
"It was a strong senior side we put out on the park and he's been in strong form at AFL level," Cameron said.
The high-flying Giants will be out to break another duck. They have never won in South Australia, losing all four of their games by an average margin of 47 points.
