New Giants recruit Brett Deledio will make his long-awaited GWS debut on Saturday when his side hosts Melbourne at UNSW Canberra Oval on Saturday.
The former Tiger made the move to GWS from Richmond during the 2016 trade period, but a number of calf issues have hampered his bid to make his Giants debut.
After months on the sidelines and in the rehab rooms, Deledio finally got his first taste of Giants football in the NEAFL two weeks ago, and has collected 42 disposals in his five quarters of reserves football over the past fortnight.
The 30-year-old played 243 games for the Tigers over the past 12 seasons, and will line up on an AFL field for the first time since round 17, 2016 when he pulls on the boots this weekend.
Giants football manager Wayne Campbell said the club were excited to add Deledio to their side, but won't get caught up in the hype too much.
“I suppose the first thing I’d say is he’s not the saviour,” Campbell told The Daily Telegraph.
“He’s a guy that hasn’t played for our footy club before. We got some real confidence out of last week, we got the four points and played better footy over the last couple of weeks. Hopefully he’ll add to that. He’s one small component of that.
“He’s a good player but he has to fit into the system and we’re not seeing him as the saviour at all.
“It’s really exciting for him. He’ll make other players better around him, but it will take some time for him to get the speed of the game.”
