The final team won’t be named until tomorrow but the GIANTS have confirmed Callan Ward and Zac Williams will return for Sunday’s clash with the Kangaroos.
As announced earlier on Thursday, Ward will return for his first game since round four, 2019 when he tore the ACL in his left knee.
Dashing half-back Zac Williams will also return to the side for his first game since the 2019 Grand Final after achilles soreness in January halted his pre-season and caused him to miss the round one match against Geelong.
Young midfielders Jye Caldwell and Jackson Hately have also been added to the 26-man squad alongside ruckman Shane Mumford.
Caldwell and Hately are both into their second seasons in the AFL with Hately playing seven games last season while Caldwell managed two.
Ward spoke about his return, having to wait that extra bit longer after the COVID shutdown put a stop to the competition for the better part of three months.
Ward said he was always focused on just returning to the field when he could and not worried about the prospect of the 2020 season not going ahead at all.
"It crosses your mind a little bit but you can't control what you can't control so I didn't think too much about it," he said.
"If anything I was really positive about it and thought I had a few more months to get my knee perfect. At that stage I thought I was ready to play but now three or four months later my knee's even better, so I feel even more ready to go now."
Ward said his side were as prepared as they could be heading into the round two clash with North Melbourne at GIANTS Stadium on Sunday.
"We're really confident in the football that we play that it's up there with the best and now that I can play a part in that as a player is good,” he said.
Ward's fellow former co-captain Phil Davis is also set for a momentous game on Sunday as he gets set to notch up his 150th appearance in the orange and charcoal.
The feat will make him just the third player to achieve life membership of the GIANTS.
Davis said his side will be boosted by Ward’s return and compared him to recent Hall of Fame inductee and GIANTS Assistant Coach Lenny Hayes.
"It's a pretty incredible package that he’s (Ward’s) got. Not many players are as skilful or as tough as he,” Davis said.
“Everyone was talking about Lenny Hayes the other week and he's about as close as I've seen to Lenny Hayes, and that's a fairly good compliment to give anyone.
"A fully fit Cal Ward puts us almost another peg higher because of the calibre of the person he is and his ability to make others better.”
The pair will run out on Sunday in front of around 350 GIANTS fans dotted around the function rooms and suites at GIANTS Stadium as the rules and regulations around crowds continue to ease.
The only player out of the side that took on the Cats at the moment is defender Adam Kennedy who is continuing to build his training back up after a hamstring injury in that round one clash.
The final 22 to take on the Kangaroos will be named at 5pm on Friday with the extended interchange of Heath Shaw, Ward, Zac Langdon, Tom Green, Hately, Daniel Lloyd, Caldwell and Mumford to be trimmed to four.
Round 2
GIANTS v North Melbourne
Sunday, June 14 at 1:05pm
GIANTS Stadium
Live on Channel 7 in Sydney and Fox Footy nationally
26-Man Squad
FB: Nick Haynes, Aidan Corr, Sam Taylor
HB: Isaac Cumming, Phil Davis, Zac Williams
C: Harry Perryman, Stephen Coniglio, Lachie Whitfield
HF: Josh Kelly, Jeremy Cameron, Toby Greene
FF: Brent Daniels, Jeremy Finlayson, Harry Himmelberg
RR: Sam Jacobs, Jacob Hopper, Matt de Boer
Interchange (from): Heath Shaw, Callan Ward, Zac Langdon, Tom Green, Jackson Hately, Daniel Lloyd, Jye Caldwell, Shane Mumford
In: Zac Williams, Callan Ward, Jackson Hately, Shane Mumford, Jye Caldwell
Out: Adam Kennedy (injured)
