Losing their star ball winner to injury proved no obstacle for GWS, with young gun Finn Callaghan standing tallest to help them to a 52-point AFL thumping of Collingwood.
Callaghan ran rampant against the Magpies with two goals, 33 disposals, seven clearances and a game-high total of 12 score involvements with 726 metres gained.
Off-contract at the end of the season, the 21-year-old had reportedly been offered a monster $17 million, 10-year deal from St Kilda.
He opted to remain at the Giants on a four-year contract extension to the end of the 2029 season.
Giants coach Adam Kingsley could only laud the highly-rated midfielder for his outing against the Magpies, believing the best is yet to come.
"That's what we believe he's going to be like and even better," Kingsley said.
"He had a lot of the ball today, but it was really the way that he used his possessions, his ability to run and carry - he stood out.
"He's a very, very nice player to watch when he's playing like that. We hope he's more like that."
Kingsley was impressed with Callaghan's ability to hit the scoreboard while dictating the tempo at the contest, given star forwards Jesse Hogan (thumb) and Jake Stringer (hamstring) were also out of the side.
Callaghan's two-goal haul against the Magpies matches his total last season, having only kicked a career-high of three in one season.
Giants ruck Kieren Briggs will join Green (calf), Hogan and Stringer on the sidelines with a neck injury and concussion.
Briggs was stretchered off the field against the Magpies and taken to hospital after a collision with teammate Sam Taylor in the first quarter.
The Giants were also without suspended quartet Jake Riccardi, Harvey Thomas, Toby McMullin and Joe Fonti.
"He (Callaghan) hasn't traditionally been a goalkicker for us," Kingsley said.
"We certainly encourage him to be hard and tough around the contest and he was certainly that.
"We encourage him to use his legs. He did that.
"His ability to hit the scoreboard is a little bit untapped for us at the moment, so it was nice for him to feel what that is and hopefully he continues to do that."
Hard and tough was the name of the game for the Giants, with Kingsley calling on his players to play with anger and "controlled violence" before the match.
"For us to be at our best, we have to be that sort of midfield," Kingsley said post-match.
"We have to compete. We have to be really physical around the stoppage and get after it.
"For the most part, we were pretty good (against Collingwood).
"We had patches where we weren't but we continue to try and minimise those patches where we're not physical.
"I was really pleased with our stoppage work today."
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