GWS coach Adam Kingsley can only hope each victory plays its part to help keep in-demand stars, with Sunday's gripping win over premiership contenders Melbourne only strengthening their chances of booking a top-eight finish and potentially retaining key personnel.
Both Kinglsey and Giants football boss Jason McCartney have addressed the futures of several off-contract players throughout the course of this year as clubs begin to come calling for potential wantaway GWS talent.
The Giants are yet to reach finalised talks with restricted free agent Harry Himmelberg, while unsigned senior players in Lachie Ash, Jake Riccardi and Xavier O'Halloran are yet to put pen to paper for 2024.
Himmelberg has gained widespread interest from rival clubs, with Sydney, Collingwood, Richmond and Brisbane all tied to the swingman as he weighs up external offers or a long-term extension with GWS.
Riccardi is another key-position target for circling sides, with Hawthorn recently linked to the ex-Werribee spearhead. Both Ash and O'Halloran, who hail from Victoria, have given no clear indication of where their future sits, while the former held discussions with the Giants and his management in recent weeks.
Despite the uncertainty that surrounds their top talent - a theme the Giants are all too familiar with - Kingsley is confident that the club is presenting itself as an attractive home for those considering their futures, with wins against Geelong, Fremantle, Melbourne and North Melbourne in the last five weeks keeping the New South Wales side in touch with the top eight and potentially sparking an unlikely finals berth.
A rousing two-point victory over the Demons in Alice Springs on Sunday has GWS one win outside of the top eight, with the performance one that could influence the decision-making among Himmelberg, Riccardi, Ash and O'Halloran, among others.
"I think it shows the direction in which we're going and the pathway that we want to try and create at the club," Kingsley said of his side's seventh win for 2023.
"All those guys are well aware of our plans around the club, where we see ourselves going, how we want to play, where they fit into that.
"I think that's really clear for them and ultimately they need to make a decision based on how confident they are in that.
"As Jason (McCartney) and I have said over the course of those questions, we're comfortable with where it sits. Yes, we haven't got their signatures yet and we'd like that as soon as possible, but we're very comfortable and confident that those guys will stay with us."
Despite being contracted until the end of 2027, defender Lachie Whitfield is another high-profile Giant said to be of interest to rival clubs, with his estimated seven-figure salary seen as a factor that would only lower the two-time best and first winner's value on the open market and allow GWS to consider a 'salary dump' exchange that saw Gold Coast part with Jack Bowes to Geelong cheaply last year.
Returning from suspension for the Giants' Round 17 clash with Hawthorn due to suspension, Whitfield has been lauded by Kingsley for his versatility to the Giants, with the 28-year-old's magnet one of the few that can be shifted across multiple lines on Kingsley's whiteboard.
Both Ash and Himmelberg join Whitfield in offering themselves to a multitude of roles, with Kingsley also looking toward the likes of Nick Haynes, Isaac Cumming and Harry Perryman to give his side the best chance of shifting shape when required.
"We'll play around with different configurations around what (the team) looks like," Kingsley said ahead of his side's clash with the Hawks. "The benefit that we have in that space is that we have players who can play in a variety of positions.
"So Himmelberg we know can complete play forward or back, Perryman can play really anywhere on the field, Ash can play a variety of positions, so can Lachie Whitfield. Cumming played on the wing on the weekend, 'Haynesy' played on the wing the week before.
"What we've been able to do well is expose those guys throughout the course of the pre-season and in the VFL when they have been in there, around 'well, let's try a variety of positions to make you as versatile as possible, and that should, in turn, make it easier for you guys to play together so you know what that looks like and then run with it'."
GWS forward Brent Daniels will be touch-and-go to make a return from a hamstring setback this week, while no players sustained injury concerns from Round 16.
The Giants host Hawthorn at GIANTS Stadium on Saturday at 4:35 pm (AEST).
