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GWS Giants are determined not to let their AFL campaign peter out as they prepare to face a Carlton side looking to impress an extra set of eyes this week.
The Giants faint finals hopes were extinguished by a crushing 89-point home loss to Sydney last weekend.
They finish their home schedule for the year on Saturday at Spotless Stadium against a Blues outfit that now knows Brendon Bolton will hold their head coaching reins next season.
Bolton, who was appointed earlier this week, finished as an assistant coach at Hawthorn on Friday.
He didn’t travel to Sydney with the Blues on Friday, but it’s believed he may still attend the game.
Recalled GWS defender Adam Kennedy anticipated Bolton’s presence would galvanise the Blues.
“If any club had a new coach and he started watching, they would all be keen pretty keen to impress,” Kennedy told AAP.
“They played really well last week against the Dees so I think all the (GWS) boys are preparing for them to come at us.”
How much Bolton would learn is debatable given the Blues have 19 players unavailable for the game, with captain Marc Murphy among those joining their injury list this week.
Describing the Giants loss to Sydney as a ‘speed hump,’ Kennedy was adamant GWS still had plenty to play for.
A maiden finals campaign is now out of reach, but Kennedy wanted GWS to finish off well like they did last year, when they carried some momentum into the off season by winning two of their last three games.
“We’re definitely not going to let these last two games go by and not have a genuine crack,” Kennedy said.
“We’re on ten wins at the moment and if we said at the start of the year we could get 11 or 12 by the end of the year we would have been stoked.
“All the boys are still super keen to finish off the year well.”
Kennedy’s inclusion is one of six changes to the Giants side.
Carlton’s Sam Rowe and Tom Bell will each chalk up a 50th AFL appearance on Saturday.
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