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GWS vice-captain Stephen Coniglio has ruled himself out of returning from a knee injury in Saturday's AFL grand final with Richmond at the MCG.
Selfless GWS vice-captain Stephen Coniglio has ruled himself out of the Giants' AFL grand final side, but co-captain Phil Davis and Lachie Whitfield are both certain to play against Richmond on Saturday.
Gun midfielder Coniglio was striving to return for the season decider after suffering a knee injury which has sidelined him for nine matches.
Ultimately the Giants medical staff and match committee didn't need to make a decision on foundation player Coniglio, who recently signed a seven-year contract extension.
He made the call himself after training on Wednesday, informing coach Leon Cameron.
"He had a meeting with Leon and made the incredibly selfless decision that he's not able to play," Giants general manager of football Wayne Campbell said at the club's grand final lunch in Sydney.
"It's an unbelievable testament to the man because watching him train he was moving OK.
"He walked into Leon and said "I don't think I'm right, I'd never forgive myself if I hurt the knee in the first 20 minutes and l left the boys out there'."
St Kilda great Nick Riewoldt, who spoke at the Giants function before Campbell announced the decision, had warned of the potential damage to team morale if Coniglio had played and got injured early.
"The oxygen that it would suck out the group emotionally, spiritually, I think it's too big a risk to take," Riewoldt said.
On social media Coniglio said the players had never lost belief through the campaign despite some setbacks and that's why he believed they would beat Richmond.
Campbell declared both Whitfield and Davis would play at the MCG despite the latter failing to train with the main group.
Key defender Davis suffered some calf tightness after the preliminary final win over Collingwood last weekend, while Whitfield missed that game after undergoing appendix surgery last week.
"He's done everything he can," Campbell said of Davis.
"He obviously got through the game on the weekend. He's done some training, done some running.
"He didn't train with the group today but we're full of confidence that he'll be out there on Saturday afternoon."
With forward Toby Greene returning from a one-match suspension the GWS match committee are poised to make at least two changes to the team.
First-year forward Bobby Hill and tall utility Lachie Keeffe, who replaced Whitfield and Greene respectively, could make way, though the latter performed very well against Collingwood.
