GWS searching for answers to turn around season-threatening slump – but won’t drop out of form stars
GWS held an ‘emergency honesty session’ hours after being smacked by Sydney. But the Giants’ football boss says dropping underperforming big-name players as a way to spark the side was not an option.
AFL
Don't miss out on the headlines from AFL. Followed categories will be added to My News.
GWS football boss Jason McCartney has refused to rule out the possibility of big name axings, but warned drastic changes would only rank as a short-term fix to the crisis threatening the Giants.
McCartney defended coach Leon Cameron in the face of growing criticism, adamant the club’s embarrassing loss to Sydney, which has placed their finals hopes in jeopardy, was “more than coaching.”
The GWS Giants leadership group and coaching staff were summonsed to an emergency honesty session just hours after the 41-point derby loss in a desperate bid to prevent frustrations from festering ahead of an ominous crunch-game against West Coast in nine-days’ time.
Watch Footy LIVE & On-Demand Every Day from July 29 – August 17 with Kayo. New to Kayo? Get your 14-day free trial & start streaming instantly >
McCartney said last year’s grand finalists – and one of the most talented lists in the competition – was not hiding from the obvious alarm bells that are now ringing as the countdown to the playoffs begin.
Superstar forwards Jeremy Cameron and Harry Himmelberg are struggling, and the Giants still have major midfield problems, and AFL great Nick Riewoldt said it took Ross Lyon dumping big name players at St Kilda in 2010 for that Saints team to wake-up.
But McCartney said the Giants would not be pressing the panic button as they complete a thorough review in response to one of the worst losses in their history.
“(Dropping big name players) is not something that has been discussed. We haven’t sat down as a match committee to look at any of that,” McCartney said.
“First thing’s first was the review. It was pulling it apart. We tried to find out the whys for the (terrible) start and inability to fight our way within. There will be some structural and positional things which the coaches are pulling apart now.
“I think (big changes) is a short-term fix. You can get a spike for a week or two but if you don’t get to the core of it all, it will present itself at the worst possible time.
“Thursday night was the worst possible time really after three wins of getting yourself back in the position in the eight with the chance to get close to finishing the round just outside the top four. “Now it’s just gone the other way.
“Like we said three weeks ago, we’ll look at everything. That’s why it started Thursday night (with an immediate review).”
McCartney said the immediate review the night of was necessary.
“Always with these things you want to get it off your chest that night,” he said.
“You don’t always get the answers you need but you start to stimulate thought and discussion.
“You need to start it. You can’t let them have dinner, sneak off, wake up the next morning and it will be OK. We have to get to work, and we have to get to work quickly.”
McCartney said the team’s barometer player Toby Greene could be back to face the Eagles, and GWS will also be hopeful about defender Phil Davis.
Cameron has a new two-year contract waiting for him that the club is committed to, and McCartney said coaching is not the problem.
“It’s more than coaching. I can’t fault from what I’ve seen from the way Leon’s been going about things all year,” McCartney said.
“He’s been outstanding to be honest. The way he’s working with the players, we’re implementing things. It’s just consistency.
“We have to go back to the board with the things we’re teaching. Are we getting it across because there’s inconsistencies there? Is there some things we can be doing differently in the way we’re teaching?
“Leon’s been fine. We’re all in it together. You just feel really disappointed for our members, sponsors and supporters to watch that on TV against our arch rival – it’s a bitter pill to swallow.”
‘Horrible, rudderless’ Giants ‘can’t win the flag’
Sydney delivered a hammer-blow to their cross-town rivals’ premiership credentials, thumping Greater Western Sydney by 41 points at Perth’s Optus Stadium on Thursday night.
The Giants’ horror show leaves the 2019 grand finalists at risk of missing the finals, continuing their seesawing season with a 10.6 (66) to 3.7 (25) loss in Sydney Derby 19.
They now risk falling out of the top eight by the end of round 12 after kicking just three goals – all from free kicks – and finishing with the equal lowest score in their history, matching last year’s grand final total against Richmond.
AFL great Nick Riewoldt labelled the Giants “deplorable”, while Jason Dunstall called Leon Cameron’s team “horrible” and “rudderless”.
“The performance lacks spirit. There’s no desperation,” Dunstall said on Fox Footy.
“They look like they’re going through the motions. They just seem to be rudderless.
“They’ve stunk it up. Just horrible.”
Riewoldt was just as vicious.
“They haven’t shown up,” he said.
“All players try, but there’s trying and then there’s really trying.
“It’s been deplorable.
“Let’s just call it. They can’t win the flag this year. They can’t achieve anything playing that sort of footy.
“How can you possibly say they can achieve anything this year?
“They’re done this year. They’re done.”
The young and hungry Swans produced their best in a big night for the club’s next generation, piling on four unanswered goals in the last quarter as an exclamation mark on a commanding win.
CAMERON: ‘WE WERE AMBUSHED EARLY AND WE DIDN’T RESPOND’
Greater Western Sydney coach Leon Cameron says his team risks being left behind in the race for this year’s premiership after serving up “tripe” in a horror loss to crosstown rival Sydney on Thursday night.
The Giants kicked the equal lowest score in their history at Optus Stadium, with all three goals against the Swans coming from free kicks as they matched the 3.7 (25) they booted against Richmond in last year’s Grand Final.
Cameron said the Giants’ system forward of the ball broke down, also blaming a lack of effort early in the game, with his team losing respect in the 41-point boilover.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do over the next six weeks if we’re even considering playing finals footy,” Cameron said.
“We were ambushed early and we didn’t respond. That’s on me clearly as the coach and the 22 that played.
“It’s a really disappointing loss and we need to find a way to pick ourselves up.
“With performances like that, if you don’t improve you’re just going to get left behind.
“Clearly we’ve been up and down all year and if we don’t find it we will get left behind at the end.”
GWS is now 3-3 against teams currently outside the top eight and at risk of falling to 10th spot on the ladder by the end of the round.
A disappointed and forthright Cameron said the Giants needed to have an honest discussion about where they were going wrong and confront their issues.
“We need to cop our right whack, because one team turned up and the other didn’t tonight,” he said.
“We are off the mark. We hover around that seven to 10 spot for a reason.
“We need to find that and find it quick, because it’s six games to go. If we serve up that tripe, then there’s going to be inconsistent performances like we’ve had for the majority of the year.”
Ugly Giants
It’s hard to know what GWS team will show up week to week this season. On Thursday night, in the words of captain Stephen Coniglio, we got the “hopeless” Giants.
They were walloped at the coalface in the first quarter, losing the clearances 16-6, and by half time they had 52 fewer disposals as star midfielders Lachie Whitfield (six disposals) and Tim Taranto (five) struggled to get involved.
Puzzlingly, the Giants led the inside 50s 24-16, but the quality of their forward entries was terrible, taking just two grabs in the attacking arc as the Swans’ defenders cleaned up.
The Giants went into the main break with their lowest half time score since 2012, 1.3 (9), and it only got worse.
Class of 2018 deliver
Young guns James Rowbottom and Nick Blakey were the Swans’ top two picks at the 2018 draft, and they have nailed them on Thursday night’s evidence.
Against one of the deepest and most talented midfields in the competition, Rowbottom gave the Swans their fast start with his contested work at the coalface.
The second-year Swan had a game-high five clearances and four inside 50s in the first half and won six of his 12 possessions in contests.
He kicked on to finish with 20, while Blakey was superb, roaming the ground with freedom to boot two goals and 18 disposals, with his elite ball-use shining through.
Finlayson’s siren shocker
GWS forward Jeremy Finlayson had an opportunity to cut the margin to an even three goals at three-quarter time when he lined up from 35m out on a slight angle.
The siren sounded as he kicked and he hooked his shot right, throwing his hands up in disappointment as he watched the ball sail through for a behind.
It was another big moment in the match when the Giants didn’t deliver, leaving them flat and with a 23-point margin to pull back.
As poor as the Giants’ ball-use was going into attack, their key forwards were not imposing and Finlayson and Cameron combined for two of their team’s three goals.
‘Hopeless’: Giants skipper slams effort
— Ben Horne
GWS captain Stephen Coniglio has described his own team as “hopeless” with the Giants’ credibility as a finals’ force hanging on a knife’s edge in Perth.
The Swans kicked the first four goals straight in the Battle of the Bridge in Perth to take a 32-9 halftime lead.
For the second week in a row, the Giants looked completely listless in the first half, with AFL greats Nick Riewoldt and Jason Dunstall questioning how much last year’s grand finalists actually want it.
But there was no harsher critic than the GWS captain himself, with Coniglio brutal at halftime.
“Hopeless really,” said Coniglio on Fox Footy.
“We’ve got to get in there and find an answer. We’ve been in this position twice in two weeks. (We’ve) got to find something now.
“They want it more than us.
“They’re carving us up going forward. It’s simply not good enough.”
GWS are eighth heading into the derby, playing against a 17th placed Swans with only three wins for the season.
A loss would put the Giants’ top eight hopes in the balance with a cluster of teams fighting for the last couple of places in the playoffs.
Dunstall branded the Giants “rudderless.”
“The performance lacks spirit. There’s no desperation,” Dunstall said on Fox Footy.
“They look like they’re going through the motions. They just seem to be rudderless.”
Riewoldt was just as vicious.
“They haven’t shown up,” he said.
“All players try, but there’s trying and then there’s really trying.
“Desperation, high stakes (stuff). We’re not seeing it from the Giants at this stage.”
GWS did turn around a similar scenario to beat Essendon last week.
SCOREBOARD
SYDNEY 3.1 5.2 6.5 10.6 (66)
GWS 0.1 1.3 2.6 3.7 (25)
BEST
Sydney: Rowbottom, Parker, Blakey, Sinclair, Dawson, Melican, Lloyd, Hayward
GWS Giants: Kelly, Coniglio, Perryman, Williams
GOALS
Sydney: Blakey 2, Dawson 2, Bell, Rowbottom, Foot, Hayward, Stephens, Thurlow
GWS Giants: Finlayson, Cameron, Langdon
INJURIES
Sydney: Nil
GWS Giants: Nil
VENUE
Optus Stadium
VOTES
3. J Rowbottom (Sydney)
2. L Parker (Sydney)
1. N Blakey (Sydney)
MORE FOOTY NEWS
70 per cent of survey respondents want Adelaide Oval to host this year’s AFL grand final
AFL Round 12 teams: See all the ins and outs
Footy Form: AFL best bets for Round 12, TAB market movers
AFL run home 2020: Will Port Adelaide finish as minor premiers, and will Adelaide win a game?
The Tackle: Mark Robinson’s midweek likes and dislikes for Round 11 of the AFL season
Originally published as GWS searching for answers to turn around season-threatening slump – but won’t drop out of form stars