Harry Perryman will make his debut for the Giants in round 9 this week against Richmond.
Perryman has played mostly as a midfielder in the reserves, but is expected to slot into a role as a small defender against Richmond, alongside dual All Australian Heath Shaw, who was Perryman's mentor last year as part of the club's academy program.
"Harry was unlucky enough to fall under my guidance, so we just kept in contact throughout last year and I checked in on how he was going," Shaw said.
"He's been performing at a very high level from round one in the NEAFL, and has really shone under duress, given the amount of top-up players we've had, so he's really stood up and his leadership has been really good.
"He's a natural footballer and that gets lost a lot these days.
"Everyone is looking for the athlete with washboard abs, who can jump and mark it, but Harry is a rugged, country footballer, and he reads the ball really well and he's very, very skilful."