AFL Origin: GWS Giants captain Toby Greene 'touch-and-go' to represent Victoria against Western Australia

Adam Kingsley has poured cold water on Toby Greene’s chances of playing in State of Origin, conceding the GWS star is “touch-and-go”.

Greene is slated to represent Victoria against Western Australia at Optus Stadium for the return of Origin football on February 14.

But the crafty forward has yet to return to full training after spending the majority of the pre-season in rehabilitation with a “sore glute”.

Giants coach Kingsley said he was hopeful Greene would return to pre-season training next week.

“I am mindful I’ve said that in the past, that it hasn’t quite panned out like that,” Kingsley said on Wednesday.

“But I think he’ll be back on deck Monday. He’s saying all the right things. His body’s feeling good.

“Again, we’ll take it step by step. Not nurse him through this period because he is working quite hard, but we won’t take any risks this time of year.”

Origin was last played in 1999, having been shelved after clubs were concerned about their best players suffering injuries.

Kingsley said the Giants had no issues with players taking part in the new iteration of Origin with it being scheduled before the season start of the season in March.

Giants halfback Lachie Ash, off the back of a breakout season, has also been named to represent Victoria under coach Chris Scott, with Sam Taylor and Jesse Hogan named for Dean Cox’s WA side.

“We want as many of our players in that Origin team as we possibly can,” Kingsley said.

“But they’ve got to be ready to play. With some niggles, some injuries, some off-season stuff, a couple of our players have boxes to tick before they really qualify.

“Toby’s one of those guys who probably ends up now being a bit touch-and-go on that decision.

“But we’ll do our best to get him as fit as we can, ready to go for that game, as well as our season.”

Greene isn’t the only player at the Giants under an injury cloud, with star recruit Clayton Oliver set back from group training at least a week with a calf issue.

Hogan is also a fortnight away from re-joining the main group following off-season surgery on his foot, while veteran midfielder Josh Kelly has yet to return to running after undergoing hip surgery.

But young gun Darcy Jones is “ahead of schedule” on his return from a knee reconstruction.

“I’m a little hesitant to rush him back in either,” Kingsley said of Jones.

“He’s here for a career, not for a few games earlier, so we need to be patient with him.

“I don’t know the timelines, I’m not going to speculate on them, but we’re probably seeing him towards the middle-back half of the year. “The Giants will kick off their season with an elimination final rematch against Hawthorn on March 7.