GWS Giants out to turn season around against Geelong after three consecutive losses

Three weeks ago, Geelong and GWS were two of the AFL’s premiership favourites. Now, they will face off aiming to avoid a winless month. Here’s how the Giants plan to storm the Cattery.

GEELONG, AUSTRALIA – MAY 27: Toby Greene of the Giants celebrates after the Giants defeated the Cats during the round 11 AFL match between Geelong Cats and Greater Western Sydney Giants at GMHBA Stadium, on May 27, 2023, in Geelong, Australia. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)

For one of the first times this season, the Giants will go into a game as underdogs as they travel down to Geelong to take on the Cats.

Both teams are coming into the match on the back of three-game losing streaks as they look to turn their campaigns around.

Adam Kingsley predicts his side could relish the chance of causing an upset, with recent history suggesting they love making the drive down the Princes Freeway having won their previous three games at GMHBA Stadium.

“Clearly both teams lost their last three games so it’s a really important game and I’m sure the way it’s played will reflect that,” Kingsley said.

“We’ve taken some pieces out of last year’s game that we played down there that we really liked. We’ll try and implement them again and see how we go.

“But the reality is we’ve just got to get our season back on track. The way that we do that is just try and play our way as best as we possibly can.

“We’ve got to get back to playing a Giants brand of footy, which we were doing, and have done for the most part of this year. It’s just gone missing the last couple of weeks.

“I think we’re capable of winning every game, I think we’re capable of losing every game. And that’s the reality of AFL football. So, whether we’re underdogs or not, our mindset shouldn’t change.”

Kingsley is confident only little tweaks are needed to get his team back on track. Picture: Daniel Pockett/AFL Photos/via Getty Images

Ball movement has been the biggest concern for the Giants with their attack missing the urgency that made the orange tsunami so successful.

Kingsley has bemoaned a lack of hunger in recent weeks, but he’s confident that they can turn into the hunters again.

“I think we see it in patches, it’s there waiting to come out,” Kingsley said. “We’re just not quite bringing it like we did in the back half of last year.

“We need to really hunt the opposition like they’re hunting us. If we can do that then I think we create really good turnovers and give ourselves great scoring opportunities.

“We’ve spoken about this week, we need to ramp up our pressure. The numbers last week were strong, but I’m not sure we were really at our level.”

Gaining the ascendancy around the midfield looks set to be a priority for the Giants, particularly following the Cats’ big loss to the Suns in Darwin. Gold Coast had 83 more uncontested possessions for the game and were able to dominate Geelong in transition.

The Giants will be eyeing an upset when they head to Geelong. Picture: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

While there will be at least two changes through injury, with Jack Buckley (calf) and Darcy Jones (hamstring) both ruled out, Kingsley is confident they can match up strongly against a Geelong side welcoming back some of their biggest names.

“(The Suns) were really impressive and played with a strong brand,” He said. “Their midfield dominance was evident.

“Geelong will get some players back we expect so that will strengthen them at home in front of their home crowd.

“We’re expecting a different team than what we saw up in Darwin last week and are preparing accordingly.”