It's unorthodox, but GWS coach Adam Kingsley says he won't be stopping his players from checking the Socceroos' World Cup score mid-game against St Kilda.
The Giants face the Saints at Marvel Stadium at 3.15pm (AEST) on Sunday, after the Socceroos take on Turkey at 2pm to kick off their campaign in the Americas.
The 10th-placed Giants (6-6) are fresh off a bye and are hoping to continue momentum after defeating Melbourne in round 12 to nab back-to-back wins for the first time this year.
Tom Green is playing 4D chess 😂⚽️ pic.twitter.com/YXkEnKiwjB
— GWS GIANTS (@GWSGIANTS) June 11, 2026
The 12th-placed Saints (5-8) have lost their past three games, having conceded the match-winner to Sydney's Jai Serong with 14 seconds remaining to lose by two points last round.
While he's far from being flippant about their AFL finals campaign, Kingsley described the World Cup as a "beneficial" little break.
Marvel Stadium will also be hosting a watch party, despite the overlap with the AFL fixture.
"I reckon our boys will be wanting to watch it during the game anyway," Kingsley said on Friday.
Just doing our office World Cup sweep and…
— GWS GIANTS (@GWSGIANTS) June 10, 2026
This is bullsh*t. pic.twitter.com/ZEOFMec444
"We don't consider that a distraction. You lose your concentration for a moment, you bring it back.
"It happens throughout the game. It happens in every game, irrespective of whether the Socceroos are playing or not.
"It (AFL) is a stressful game. It's a long game. It's 120 minutes long plus.
"You can't concentrate for that long. When is the right time to have a break? Little breaks are beneficial.
"There's no doubt we'll talk about it during the game at some point, but at the right moments. We'll embrace that."
Saints coach Ross Lyon was on the other side of the spectrum.
"We're 9am at Surry Hills ... it's irrelevant," Lyon joked.
The Giants will be out to make amends for a four-point loss to St Kilda in round two.
A fit-again Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera poses one of the toughest problems for Kingsley and the Giants, with youngster Ryan Angwin - on return from a hand injury - a possible solution.
"We'll deliberate over that. We certainly sent Ryan Angwin to him to start in the round two game," Kingsley said.
"We dropped that halfway through the second quarter when the scoreboard was getting in the way for us, and we played better.
"That'll be the discussion that we have. Do we start with one? Do we go to one?
"We'll certainly have attention on him. He's too good to let run around free and not have any attention."
Jesse Hogan will return after undergoing a "mini pre-season" before the bye because of a hip injury.
The 2024 Coleman Medal winner hasn't played since round eight.
"He'll play free," Kingsley said.
"We feel like he's in great shape now to attack the back half of the season fully fit."
