Whitfield (ankle) and Taranto (back) were sidelined from the Giants' win over West Coast last week due to their respective ailments.

GWS will give the key duo an extra week off, given the Giants have a bye the following week.

"They have both got niggly injuries," Giants assistant coach Amon Buchanan told reporters on Thursday.

"The bye coming next week will be really good for them to get a bit more of a break so both of them won't play this weekend.

"Lachie's ankle is a bit grumbly and Tim's had a few issues with his back so that bye will come in handy and hopefully we can get them back after the bye."

GWS' caretaker coach Mark McVeigh missed training on Thursday to be at the birth of his third child while several Giants players are under selection clouds due to illness.

"There has been a bit of sickness and flu symptoms going around ... there's a few boys we will wait and see how they pull up after training today," Buchanan said.

But the playing group's morale had been boosted by last week's win in McVeigh's first game in charge when replacing Leon Cameron who departed as head coach.

"It has been a good week, nice and upbeat," Buchanan said.

"Obviously it's a big challenge going up to the Gabba to take on the Lions, they're top two for a reason.

"They're really strong in their contest ... we are going to have to bring our pressure.

"They are number one in the comp for contested marks so they control the air ways so it's a really big focus for us to bring the ball to ground."

Australian Associated Press