GWS coach Adam Kingsley has questioned why Brent Daniels was forced to undergo a concussion test late in the Giants' heartbreaking preliminary final defeat and will look to clarify the issue with the AFL.
The Giants' small forward was on the end of a fierce tackle from Collingwood superstar Nick Daicos with 13 minutes left in the last quarter of Friday night's thriller at the MCG.
Daniels' arms were pinned and his head made contact with the ground.
The 24-year-old remained on the field after the tackle but was pulled to the bench with about six minutes to go for a head injury assessment.
Players are required to remain off the ground for at least 15 minutes even if they pass the HIA.
Kingsley was perplexed by why Daniels needed to come to the bench up to 10 minutes after being tackled by Daicos.
The first-year Giants coach said he was "sure" the club would follow the incident up with the AFL.
"I'm really disappointed to lose Brent Daniels for a HIA, that he passed comfortably in the last (six) minutes of the game, which hurt us around the ball with a bit of leg speed, a bit of overlap run, so that's extremely disappointing," the Giants coach said.
"I haven't seen the incident but from what I'm led to believe it didn't warrant having to take him off the field to assess him."
The heartbreaking one-point defeat -- 8.10 (58) to 8.9 (57) -- ends the Giants' extraordinary climax to the season as they fell just short of making the grand final after starting the finals series from seventh.
GWS sat 14th after round 15 but stormed home to not only make the finals but win sudden-death matches at the MCG and the Adelaide Oval.
"I thought there was a bit of adversity that we had to overcome to compete," Kingsley said.
"I just reiterated how proud I was of their fight, their ability to hang in there.
"We're off the back of a six-day break, travelling back from Port Adelaide, it felt like we were slow out of the blocks against Collingwood but then we were able to fight back and get our noses in front.
"I couldn't be prouder of the way that they carried themselves."