GWS Giants map out path to AFL finals with Canberra fixture locked in

The Giants will round out their Canberra fixtures for the season with a game against the Gold Coast Suns on Sunday, July 23 in round 19.

It looms as a golden opportunity for the Giants to snap their nine-game losing run at Manuka Oval, with the once-famed Manuka fortress reduced to a rubble in the midst of the club's longest losing streak at the Canberra venue since their inception.

Crowd figures have cleared the 10,000 mark for the Giants' opening two fixtures at Manuka Oval this season, with club bosses vowing to show the club's divisive 10-year, $28.5 million partnership with the ACT government has a greater legacy than three men's premiership games per season.

The Giants' deal with the ACT government also includes up to two AFLW games - with the addition of a second hinging on potential clashes with cricket games - and one men's pre-season match annually, which will all kick in next year.

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The AFL has locked in its fixtures for rounds 16 to 23, working to prioritise Thursday night football in the final schedule update of the season, scheduling an additional three games where minimum five-day breaks permit.

AFL superstar Toby Greene will almost certainly return to boost GWS when they face St Kilda on Sunday for their first game at Giants Stadium since round three.

Greene has missed GWS' last two matches - defeats to premiership contenders Collingwood and the Western Bulldogs - with an ankle injury.

The Giants captain was initially named to face the Magpies but was ruled out two days before the eventual 65-point loss at the MCG.

Greene hurt himself during his match-winning performance in the Giants' memorable one-point victory over crosstown rivals Sydney in round seven.

Now he is on a collision course with a fifth-placed St Kilda side seeking retribution after they were battered in Adelaide.

"[Greene] was really close on Sunday [to play against Collingwood], but he still has to get through training," Kingsley said on Wednesday.

"The signs right now look good ... I'm not going to pre-empt that he's definitely playing but it looks more likely than that last week anyway, and he was really close last then."

Despite the Giants sitting 15th with just three wins, Kingsley believes his team can still surge up the ladder in his first year at the club.

GWS last played finals in 2021, but long-time coach Leon Cameron departed last May after an uninspiring start to the 2022 campaign.

"I still think this season is more about than just finals for us," Kingsley said.

"We want to make finals and play towards finals, but we have a lot of growth to do for us to become that team that we want to be.

"I still think we can play finals, even if we don't get the result this weekend, but we've got a lot of work to do and that's that's where our focus lies."

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