Defender Connor Idun (health and safety protocols) and midfielder Jacob Hopper (knee) are expected to play as the Giants host the Lions in Canberra for the first time.

Interim coach Mark McVeigh was happy the club was back at Manuka as they aim to finish off a disappointing year on a high.

"We don't want the season to just sail off into the sunset," McVeigh said on Tuesday.

"We were really disappointing last weekend [in a 55-point loss against Port Adelaide after defeating Hawthorn the week before]. I think we took a step back as a club. We go to Canberra so we are really excited by that because we love that ground.

"We love the crowd there, they get behind us, we sell out every time we play there and it is really special for us.

"We want to make that a fortress for us."

After winning 12 of 15 games in Canberra before the pandemic, Manuka Oval has not been a happy hunting ground for the Giants in the past two seasons. The 13th-placed side lost here twice last year before defeats to Geelong and St Kilda in 2022.

"We are looking forward to getting down there for what should hopefully be a sunny Saturday afternoon and play some really good footy," McVeigh said.

"All of the things are exciting for us this weekend, new players are available and coming into the team and we get to play at our home ground with a packed house which should be great."

Hopper is set to play his first game since round one after recovering from a knee injury. Phil Davis (hamstring) and Adam Kennnedy (concussion) will drop out of the lineup.

"We obviously know how good (Hopper) is as an inside midfielder and we will have to shuffle the decks," McVeigh said.

The Giants haven't beaten the Lions since 2019, but only lost to Brisbane by 14 points at the Gabba back in May.

"Our form was really good when we went up there, we tested them out. They were terrific. We obviously dominated that first quarter and they grinded us down which was disappointing," McVeigh said.

"We know that they have had their battles with health stuff, we will see where that lands for them. We fully expect a really strong outfit."

Meanwhile, McVeigh confirmed he'd be interested in applying for North Melbourne's vacant coaching role after they sacked David Noble on Tuesday morning.

"I've obviously got a passion to do it ... I'm open to anything to be quite honest," he said. "First and foremost for me though, it's (GWS), this is where I want to be, this is who I want to coach."

- With AAP