The GIANTS have made just one change to their team to face West Coast on Saturday night as they head to Perth to try and win in the west for the first time.



Enigmatic forward Will Hoskin-Elliott will play his first game for 2015 after being called into the side to replace the injured Rhys Palmer.



“He’ll play his normal forward role or up on the wings at times as well,” coach Leon Cameron said of Hoskin-Elliott.



“He had a little bit of bad luck in the last NAB Challenge game against the Swans with the shoulder injury but his last two weeks you can clearly see he’s ready to play AFL football again and he gets a great opportunity on Saturday night against the Eagles.”



After a breakout 2014 season that included 20 games and 26 goals, Hoskin-Elliott injured his shoulder in the GIANTS’ final NAB Challenge game against the Swans at the end of March.



He returned to the field for the UWS GIANTS two weeks ago, kicking five goals against the Swans reserves and then another four against Eastlake last Saturday in Canberra.



Palmer will miss the next six weeks with a shoulder injury sustained in the final quarter of the GIANTS’ big win over the Gold Coast last weekend.



Once again the GIANTS have made just one change to their side, with Cameron confident he has a host of players in the reserves ready for senior football.



“There’s a number of other players, as we’ve said every week for the past four or five weeks, that can come in and play a role,” Cameron said.



“Again, there’s a number of players that have missed out on playing this weekend so if the AFL guys are getting the job done and playing some really good, consistent footy then it’s going to be tough for the guys that are playing NEAFL.



“But eventually something will open up and something opened up through injury for Will Hoskin-Elliott and I’m looking forward to seeing if he takes his opportunity.”



The trip to Perth has been a tough one for the GIANTS in the past with the club yet to secure a win in the west in the four games they’ve played there. But Cameron isn’t concerned by previous results.



“We know it’s a really tough, long road trip for us but in saying that, we feel as though it’s the first time in four years that we actually go across to Perth with a side that is going to be very, very competitive,” he said.



“The last couple of years we’ve probably had a few injuries and our kids weren’t ready to play a full four quarters of footy whereas this year you can clearly see they’ve made some great advances.”



But he knows playing the Eagles on their home ground with a vocal local crowd will be the GIANTS’ toughest test yet this season.



“We feel as though our style of play is working so there’s a sense of belief amongst the group and there’s a sense of trust that the player beside them is going to get the job done so it’s a great opportunity to do that,” he said.



“But we’re also under no illusions that the Eagles have won 12 quarters out of 16 ... they’ve played some really, really good footy and they’re very hard to beat on their home deck.”



West Coast v GIANTS

Saturday May 2, 7.40pm (EST)

Domain Stadium, Perth



GWS GIANTS



FB: Joel Patfull, Phil Davis, Heath Shaw

HB: Aidan Corr, Nick Haynes, Tommy Bugg

C: Devon Smith, Callan Ward, Stephen Coniglio

HF: Dylan Shiel, Jeremy Cameron, Ryan Griffen

FF: Josh Kelly, Cam McCarthy, Lachie Whitfield

RR: Shane Mumford, Tom Scully, Toby Greene



Interchange: Will Hoskin-Elliott, Nathan Wilson, Adam Treloar, James Stewart



In: Will Hoskin-Elliott

Out: Rhys Palmer (shoulder)



Emergencies: Matt Buntine, Jarrod Pickett, Rory Lobb