UP for it.

AFL Senior Coach Michael Voss acknowledged that it will be a tough outing when the Blues take on the Giants on their home deck, and that his side won't be taking any chances when it comes to the Saturday night’s game.

Speaking on decisions at the selection table, the Giants' readiness to respond and the key match-ups to come, Voss unpacked the Round 17 clash.

Here's what he had to say.

On playing at ENGIE Stadium:

"We’ve certainly had some recent history here that says just how hard it is to win here – not just being able to win here, but the opponent you’re playing against. They present a few questions we need to answer and we’re under no illusions: we know we’re coming here playing against a very good team and we’re going to have to be at our best to get the job done."

On the Giants' recent form:

"I think there’s a healthy respect when it comes to that. Not that long ago, we had a similar approach and the guys were able to band together and stick together and get the job done. I think our job is that no matter who steps out there, we respect every player that plays.

“They have a method they want to play, it’s quite damaging. They bring plenty of threats to the table so we’re going to have to bring our very best."

On Tom De Koning coming back into the side:

"His last month has been exceptional but we always try and stress that it’s built off the right things. The outcome is he plays a great game, but he stays present to the role he needs to play and brings an enormous amount of energy for us.

"We’re not just asking for him to get first use to our midfield, but he’s got to get after it when the ball hits the floor as well. That’s been his real strength, he's got a pretty handy opponent to play against. I’m sure he’s looking forward to getting back out there with the boys."

On Marc Pittonet coming out of the side:

"Tom’s been in great form, there’s no hidden meaning behind it and Marc understands that. What Tom has been able to put together in the last little patch has been pretty exceptional.

“[Pittonet] understands that and he knows his role is to stay ready, get ready and if that means waiting for his turn, then he’ll do that, that’s the type of character he is."

On who Alex Cincotta could potentially match up on:

"There are a few guys to take notice of. Green in the midfield, Coniglio, Whitfield, and then you’re trying to deal with guys like Toby Greene up forward. The talent that GWS possess is pretty threatening.

"There will be a couple of guys that we have to pay a bit more attention to and then there’s a system we need to be able to play. We like to think no matter where we’ve played this year, we’ve been able to provide that level of consistency and we expect that, no matter where we are.

"We’ve got a healthy level of respect for any opponent no matter where we go. We’ve had some good recent history against GWS, and we expect them to come out pretty hard."

On Patrick Cripps' dominant form:

“There’s a lot that goes into it to try and get him in that mindset where he gets to play. I hope it’s in that sweet spot that he’s really clear on his role and what he brings to the table, he trusts enormously the players he has around him, and he doesn’t feel like he has to do more than what he has to do.

"He’ll get an important match-up tomorrow like the rest of the boys and he has to get his job done. Those players find moments where they stand up and he’s been able to find a few of those recently."

On George Hewett coming out of the side:

"He’s been pretty consistent and sometimes we miss out and there’s guys already in those roles. He sort of sits in the 'Pitto' category: it’s not the form he’s had, it’s the ones that have been around him.

"It’s not just about putting out 23 of our best players, that’d be a different conversation. We ask our players to have a balance within their role as well: we are role-specific and we do need a system to operate. That cohesion that we want to have across the group is a balance of strengths.

"We’re trying to balance that always and find the best versions of ourselves. I hope that we continue to have this conversation about players we deem to be unlucky and in form. If we’re having those conversations for the next eight or nine weeks of the home-and-away season, then I’ll be pretty happy."

On the potential of Sam Walsh being tagged:

"From our perspective, it’s more about Sam being able to play his role and stay connected to us as a group. I think one of the strengths of our group is that we haven’t become ‘one-person’ reliant.

"He doesn’t feel like he has to do more than what his job entails and we’ve been pretty clear on that. It’s when we reach a little too far and we try to do a little too much, we sort of get a bit desperate and stretch ourselves where we shouldn’t. That’s when we drift away from what’s important to us.

“That’s all we expect Sam to do: if he gets that match-up, I know he’ll look forward to it."

On Adam Cerra's return last week:

"He’s been able to step into it, we rate Adam very highly. We brought him here as a very important player to us. He’s really tightened up the defensive part of our game as a collective. He’s been one of those players that has helped us do that, Blake Acres has helped us do that, he fills a really important role.

"We’re probably looking forward to this group hopefully playing a lot of footy together and building that cohesion towards the backend of the year."

On Jordan Boyd's AFL Tribunal outcome:

"It was good. We feel like that was the right outcome. There is a process we can follow and we followed it through to the end and were lucky enough to have a player available. We feel strongly that it was the right outcome."

On Matt Kennedy's clear scans:

"He’s played a different role to what he’s been used to: we’ve known Matty as a guy that’s played that inside mid. He’s played portions of his game like that, but he’s also been able to play minutes in the ruck and alleviate time, so he’s become quite a specific role for us.

"We were all really pleased when we got the scans back. They don’t always go that way, he’s had a couple of issues with his knees in the past with the MCL. I think we’re just being a bit careful but it was the right move to make and make sure we finished the game right. Fortunately, he came through all clear, so he’s right to go."