The polished left-footer could line up for the Raiders against arch-rival Wodonga on Anzac Day if his clearance from Doncaster East goes through in time.

Giles, who joined Raiders with Dean Limbach and Michael Steven, last played for the Raiders in 2014.

The Raiders have also named key defender Dean Heta on an extended bench, although he remains a long shot to play following off-season back surgery.

If Heta plays, he would be the logical match-up for former AFL forward Daniel Bradshaw, who comes into the Bulldogs’ side with Jarrod Twitt.

Coach Daryn Cresswell said the Raiders were starting to build some momentum after registering their first win of the season against Corowa-Rutherglen.

“Giles will be really important and with him and Heta coming in, we’re starting to get somewhere near one of our better sides,” he said.

“Playing Dean would be a bit of a risk but he’s obviously a very good player.

“He’s not going to be super fit but he can certainly go back and play key back for us.”

Wodonga coach Dean Harding said the Bulldogs had taken a giant leap forward in their one-point loss to Yarrawonga and was keen for another strong showing against the Raiders.

“We just saw signs of playing the footy we want to play last week,” he said.

“We measure effort and the first three weeks, the measurements we took weren’t where we’d like them to be.

“We got a lot closer to where we want to be on Saturday, hence the result.

“Internally, we were really confident going in.

“Apart from our members and supporters, we don’t really mind what people think externally.”

Harding said the Bulldogs would need to be at their best to beat their cross-town rivals.

“They’ve got a really good list with good balance,” he said.

“They’ve got good depth through their midfield and some really gun forwards with (Ross) Tungatalum and (Adam) Flagg and then (Jack) Di Mizio has really got their back-end under control.

“(Todd) Bryant adds plenty of strength to their midfield, as does (Matt) McDonald coming back in.”