“Still building”: GWS gun on Opening Round availability

GWS captain Toby Greene has declared himself fit for Opening Round, despite admitting he is still building towards peak match fitness after an interrupted pre-season.

Greene was in doubt for the revived State of Origin clash earlier this month with a hamstring injury, but managed to feature in the marquee clash after ticking off all necessary boxes.

The Giant skipper was on a modified program throughout the pre-season, but is inching closer to full fitness.

"I was a little bit underdone," Greene told Zero Hanger at the AFL's Captain's Day.

"I've still got a couple of weeks to go to really hit match fitness.

"My body feels good, but I just got to keep building."

Greene played 66 minutes of the Origin clash in a bid to get him cherry-ripe for the start of the 2026 season.

However, given his interrupted run-in, coach Adam Kingsley requested he play on managed minutes.

"There was that question asked," Kingsley said on SEN.

"I was pretty keen for Toby to be involved in it, for what he's done for the game and how desperate he was to play but I would've liked him to manage his minutes a little better."

Greene's confidence in his selection against Hawthorn on March 7 at ENGIE Stadium is pivotal to the club, given the injury toll in the past week.

Tom Green headlines the list, suffering an ACL injury and has been ruled out of 2026. Sam Taylor and Toby Bedford injured their hamstrings, while Finn Callaghan will miss the start of the year.

The injury tally grew in last week's match simulation against Collingwood, as Brent Daniels and Cody Angove suffered hamstring injuries.

Greene believes the pair will be out for several weeks.

There's also a watch on Callum Brown, who exited the game with a rolled ankle.