Giants ‘frustrated’ as finals chances shrink, Greene faces biggest challenge of his captaincy

Giants skipper Toby Greene is facing the hardest moment of his captaincy as the club looks to turn around their shocking form to make a late run for the finals.

Two wins in their past eight games has the Giants staring down a year without finals. Picture: Mark Brake/Getty Images

The Giants’ season has officially hit its lowest point.

For the first time in 2024, GWS finds itself outside of the top-eight and staring down an unceremonious finish to a year where so much was expected.

By no means is their season over. But the players agree that Saturday’s loss to the Crows was one of, if not their worst result of the year.

“It was super frustrating,” Giants captain Toby Greene said. “In the rooms after the game, it was probably the most frustrated I’ve been this year.

“Even more annoying, the second quarter we were able to give up so many goals and for a second week in a row. You don’t want that to become a trend and then you’re trying to chase a game, because it just doesn’t happen at this level.

“We’ll work through it, but we’ve got a lot of work to do. We’re not in the eight at the moment, so we’ve got a tough eight weeks ahead but we’ve got to attack it and challenge everyone that we’ve come up against and have a crack at finishing in the eight.”

Greene tried to inspire his troops with a big goal late against the Crows, but it wasn’t enough. Picture: Mark Brake/Getty Images

The 16-point defeat means the Giants have now lost six of their past eight matches, with their percentage falling below the likes of Brisbane, Fremantle and the Western Bulldogs.

Most concerningly has been the manner of their performances, with their attack virtually blunted for the best part of two months.

Since round eight, the Giants haven’t scored more than 79 points in a match. In that period they rank in the bottom four for points scored in the competition. The last time GWS scored 80 points or less in eight consecutive games was their debut season in 2012.

They’re also ranked 16th for two categories they pride themselves on – points from turnovers and defensive 50 to inside 50.

It’s clear teams are taking on the foundations of the orange tsunami and having great success. When opponents are able to limit the Giants’ handball game, it keeps their attack under wraps and nullifies their most potent threat.

Greene knows that they need to find a way to push through that challenge and adapt on the fly to source more scoring options.

“I mean AFL footy is so close now every team can beat you on the day,” he said. “If we’re not consistent for four quarters, or we’re a bit down on confidence and our pressure’s down, then it’s hurting us for patches.

“To be honest, until last week I didn’t really know that was the case (that we hadn’t scored more than 80 points). But we’ve got to be able to challenge teams in a better way.

“Moving the footy is not just the forward line, it’s the forwards, mids and backs working together. Being able to work for each other as well is a huge one and I think it will be a focus this week, along with contest stuff.”

The Giants need to make sure they aren’t just relying on Greene and Jesse Hogan to hit the scoreboard. Picture: James Elsby/AFL Photos via Getty Images

There are certainly some positives for the Giants as they look ahead to a crucial home game against Carlton this Saturday. Only key defender Sam Taylor is missing from their best 23, with Darcy Jones and Aaron Cadman likely to come back in against the Blues.

It’s also been fine margins, having won the second half in each of their past two defeats.

But Greene is ready to embrace the challenge of leading the team out of their funk, and believes it will be the responsibility of the club’s leadership group to individually lift their own standards and inspire a response this weekend.

“As captain it’s probably the first time we’ve had our backs against the wall and dealing with the expectations which were all part of coming into the year,” Greene said.

“Being able to instil belief in others is a big part of my role in the next eight weeks, getting everyone back to playing their role and believing they’re good enough.

“We’re certainly a bit down on confidence on game day … but the change room is still very up and about and a lot of guys are bringing that energy.

“I feel really positive and my body feels really good. But we know that we’re nowhere near our best footy. We’re not shying away from the task, I’m excited by it and I’ll learn a lot about myself and others in the next eight weeks and where we want to get to.

“(Carlton) is a super important game, but it won’t determine if we make finals or not, but it’ll be a big reason.

“We’ve got a really strong team and we need to start working in unity, working for each other and get ourselves going for the year.”

Originally published as Giants ‘frustrated’ as finals chances shrink, Greene faces biggest challenge of his captaincy