AFL: GWS Giants Giants vow to hit back after 'embarrassing' Hawthorn defeat

Giants star Adam Kennedy says GWS fell well below their standards as they were held to their lowest score in club history by a rampant Hawthorn outfit in Canberra.

GWS were out-hunted and dominated in the areas they pride themselves on against a side with slim finals aspirations in a 56-point defeat that left coach Leon Cameron "embarrassed".

Now they have seven days to lick their wounds as they look to bounce back against the Western Bulldogs at Giants Stadium next Sunday.

"It's definitely not the standard we set ourselves," Kennedy said.

"It was pretty disappointing, especially being in Canberra where we play pretty good footy normally, and on a Friday night.

"All the boys are a bit down at the moment but at the same time we've got to move on pretty quickly.

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"It's going to be pretty handy getting a few boys back next week. We're hoping for three or four of the boys to be fit and ready for next week."

Giants veteran Brett Deledio left the field in the third term with a calf injury but is expected to return to the fold for a return to Sydney next Sunday.

Cameron hopes he will be joined by Josh Kelly (calf), Matt de Boer (shoulder) and Harry Himmelberg (calf) as GWS look to bounce back against a Bulldogs side mounting a push for the top eight.

But Cameron expects they will be without Jeremy Finlayson and Jacob Hopper (both hamstring injuries) until the final round of the home and away season.

Himmelberg's return would be a major boost for a forward line that managed just one mark inside 50 against the Hawks.

Even that inclusion would be outweighed by the return of some key cogs in the engine room - for not even Toby Greene's 38 disposals were enough to keep the Giants in the fight against Hawthorn.

The Hawks have now held the Giants to their lowest score of the season in consecutive meetings between the two sides.

It is a statistic for which Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson says there is no magic formula despite him saying the Hawks are right where they belong as "a mid-table team".

Their standing on the ladder will raise questions about the Giants' flag hopes but Kennedy says there is no reason to hit the panic button.

"You can't afford to just dwell on it for too long, but at the same time, a lot of teams this year have been even," Kennedy said.

"It shows how even the competition is, if you don't rock up and bring the good qualities of your team - for us, that's our tackling and contested ball, and we were pretty poor in that [against Hawthorn] - it can hurt you."

The loss which dented GWS' top four ambitions also cost the Giants a chance to push further ahead of in front of Collingwood in the battle for fifth spot.

Kennedy's return comes at a crucial time for a Giants outfit now locked in a battle to retain home field advantage come finals.

The 27-year-old returned to the senior side this week after being sent to hospital for tests on an elevated heart rate in a reserves match last month.

Kennedy concedes he was "a bit of a mess" following the on-field health scare but has put the setback behind him with an eye on helping the Giants secure a home final come September.

"For me it's just about playing my role and doing everything I can to hold my spot in the team," Kennedy said.

"I'm just trying to do everything I can to stick around. I know my best footy puts me in this best 22, and I want to be in there at the pointy end of the year.

"I played a pretty flexible role [against Hawthorn], I was up forward at the start of the game but then when a few things didn't go our way, I got put down back and then on the wing.

"That flexibility might help me but we'll have to go to Monday, go to the reviews, and see what the coaches think."