GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY could welcome back some big names for Sunday’s game against Port Adelaide on the Gold Coast.

Among them, former co-captain Callan Ward was a late withdrawal from the Giants’ win over Hawthorn but seems to have overcome the ankle soreness that kept him out of that game and appears ready for a recall against Port.

The club’s reigning best and fairest Tim Taranto is also ready to feature, having overcome a pre-season shoulder injury, but whether he comes straight back into the AFL side or features in a trial game against the Hawthorn reserves remains to be seen.

Defender Adam Kennedy will also be tested but looks like another potential inclusion for the Giants, after missing last week’s game with hamstring soreness, while youngsters Jye Caldwell, Jack Buckley, Xavier O’Halloran and Bobby Hill are pushing hard for game time after strong training and practice match form.

It is not so good news for defender Sam Taylor who had to be hospitalised after developing septic arthritis on joints in his pelvis and ankle.

Taylor is likely to miss at least a month of football.

The Giants sit seventh on the AFL ladder but are just a game and percentage behind top-placed Port Adelaide heading into Sunday’s game at Metricon Stadium

They will name a 26-man squad on Thursday night before trimming it to 22 on Friday afternoon.