Greater Western Sydney are set to flex their goalkicking muscles in their blockbuster AFL clash against Hawthorn, welcoming stars Jake Stringer and Jesse Hogan to the fray.
Stringer will make his Giants debut in Saturday night's match in Launceston after overcoming illness and a low-grade hamstring strain picked up in the pre-season.
It will be the forward's first match at AFL level since his final game for Essendon last August.
Stringer had played all 23 games for the Bombers, kicking 42 goals last season.
Reigning Coleman medallist Hogan also makes his return from a pre-season injury, having been ruled out of the Giants' opening two wins over Collingwood and Melbourne after breaking his thumb.
Ruckman Kieren Briggs comes back into the side after overcoming a concussion suffered during their Magpies game.
Stringer's selection comes after Kingsley had considered easing the 30-year-old back through the VFL.
"There's probably an assumption that he (Stringer) comes straight in - I'm not sure that that's necessarily true," Kingsley said on Thursday.
"It's been a month since he played for us, and even that was 15 minutes of a VFL session.
"Whether we think Jake can tick all those boxes and help us win - well, if we think he can, then we'll pick him.
"If we think he can't, then he'll probably come back through the VFL."
The package has officially arrived 📦
— GWS GIANTS (@GWSGIANTS) March 27, 2025
Callum Brown, Max Gruzewski and James Leake make way for the trio.
Jake Riccardi, Harvey Thomas, Joe Fonti and Toby McMullin were eligible to play after serving two-match suspensions, but Kingsley opted against a massive overhaul to his line-up.
"Given the way that we've been playing our first two games of the season, I think it's probably fair and reasonable that we reward those guys in our selection," Kingsley said.
"We need to reward the players that have been getting the jobs done thus far."
Both the Giants (2-0) and the Hawks (3-0) enter the round-three fixture undefeated.
GWS have only played one game at UTAS Stadium under Kingsley, losing by six points to Hawthorn in a close contest last season.
The Giants settled for a 97-point draw against the Hawks in their last visit to the Tasmanian venue in 2017.
Admitting similarities between their high-octane attacking style of play, Kingsley expects another arm wrestle.
GWS got on top in their most recent meeting in round 21 last year by two points thanks to a late goal by midfielder Tom Green in Canberra.
"We respect the hell out of them. We know we're going to be in for a tough match," Kingsley said.
"If you were to compare forward line, midfield and defence, it'd be pretty similar in terms of the types of players they have back there, certainly the quality.
"We're two quite similar teams, and that's why it promises to be a great match early in the season."
