Greater Western Sydney co-captain Phil Davis could return for Saturday night’s blockbuster against his former club Adelaide.

The defender has been sidelined since Round Seven after injuring his hamstring in the final quarter against Fremantle, but could be a welcome addition for the Giants ahead of Saturday’s clash at Adelaide Oval.

The Giants will be hoping Davis can prove his fitness this week with the side losing two more key defenders during their 25-point win over the Western Bulldogs on Sunday afternoon.

Matthew Buntine (concussion) and Tim Mohr (hamstring) look unlikely to make the trip to Adelaide, adding to Giants coach Leon Cameron’s injury woes.

Buntine copped a high bump from Bulldog Lin Jong in the first quarter and did not return. Mohr pulled up lame in the same term and also could not make it back on to the field.

“Losing players early in the game always makes it a bit tougher, losing a couple of keys. We seem to have a knack of losing key defenders in the past few years,” Cameron said.

Nick Haynes also suffered a mild concussion, but Cameron anticipates he will be fine to take make the trip to Adelaide.

The Giants look short in defence as they prepare to face the Crows, with Aidan Corr (ankle) and Caleb Marchbank (ankle) also on the injury list. 

“You don’t sort of look at your list and say we need six key defenders, you think you would be okay with four.

“Everyone puts up with injuries, some you actually get that hurt you more than others and some are in different parts of the ground and spread over the parts of the ground but we seem to have them in our back end,” Cameron said.

The Giants were forced to re-shuffle their deck against the Bulldogs with Jonathan Patton moved down back midway through the game and Zac Williams moved from the midfield to his natural position of half-back.

With both Buntine and Mohr likely to miss against the Crows, Cameron may once again be forced to revert to less conventional options in defence.

However, reinforcements from the NEAFL may be just what the doctor ordered with Adam Tomlinson and Jack Steele putting their hands up for selection after dominant performances last weekend.

Tomlinson had 52 touches, including 21 contested possessions, 10 clearances and 11 inside 50s in his side’s 53-point win over the Brisbane Lions reserves. It was the second best on ground performance in a row for the big-bodied 22-year old after notching 44 possessions the previous week against the Gold Coast Suns reserves.

Steele also had a day out against the Lions, racking up 43 disposals at 81 per cent efficiency.