How GWS Giants plan to bounce back after horror month losing three of four games
A month ago, the Giants were equal favourites for the premiership after a hot start to the season. Now, after three losses in four games, Lachie Whitfield and Stephen Coniglio speak about how they plan to turn their form around.
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Adam Kingsley put it bluntly when summing up the Giants’ current form: “We’re not playing our best footy”.
It’s been a disappointing month for the previously high-flying Giants, losing three of their past four matches. Outside of their impressive Anzac Day win over the Lions, they’ve found themselves well-outplayed by Carlton, Sydney and now Essendon.
If it wasn’t for a game-saving mark from super-sub James Peatling against St Kilda, they could be out of the top eight altogether.
While their 6-3 record still allows them to put a positive spin on their start to the season in comparison to 12 months earlier, last week’s loss to the Bombers proved particularly painful as they celebrated Callan Ward’s 300th game.
“The last couple of weeks, there have been key stats that we’ve been consistently on the wrong side of,” Stephen Coniglio said.
“The pressure is one that I expect us to get better at. I think that consistency we just haven’t gotten right yet.
“This time last year, we were still in that hungry and training hard mindset and it’s the same this year. I’m not worried about anything and we need to make sure that we are learning and progressing forward.”
One of the biggest concerns was Essendon’s ability to limit the Giants’ run through the midfield. The orange tsunami thrives on pressure and for the second consecutive week, it was far below their opponent’s.
The Giants finished the match -17 for inside 50s, -23 for uncontested possessions and -39 for marks. The easy ball they usually get in transition just wasn’t made available.
And it was another match that highlighted the importance of keeping Lachie Whitfield quiet as he ended the game with just 18 disposals and 273 run metres gained. Matt Guelfi came up trumps after his hard tag on Whitfield and the experienced Giant knows he has to find ways around it after being kept similarly quiet against the Swans.
“In a way, it’s a bit of a compliment I suppose,” Whitfield said. “But it’s a good battle, it makes the game hard and they both did good jobs over the past two weeks.
“Chatting with Kingers, he doesn’t want me to try any harder or try any trick. It’s about trying to beat my man and play as a good defender. On the weekend, Matt Guelfi played a good role and definitely got on top of me there.
“As a back six, we’re pretty tight. We’re all happy to play roles on any given day. As long as we’re getting results, we don’t mind who takes any sort of credit.
“I’d love to be getting the ball more and trying to thrust it forward. But there’s gonna be games this happens and we do win and we’ll be happy about the way it’s panned out. It’s just a part of footy and a lot of teams do it. The last two weeks they have got me, but it is what it is.”
The Giants’ attack has certainly been down in the last fortnight, but overall, their defensive record is also well below their own lofty standards.
From rounds 11 to 24 last season, the Giants were the best team for points against, points against from turnovers and opposition scores per inside 50. They only rank in the top eight for one of those categories this year.
Kingsley prioritises a whole team defence and demands as much pressure from his midfielders and forwards to create turnovers as he does his defenders. That task is going to be even more difficult with Lachie Ash and Josh Kelly, two of their most dynamic ball users, both out for six weeks with calf injuries.
However, GWS’ resolve is strong. And although they’ve lost games they were confident of winning already this season, they’re convinced they can turn things around.
“I would say if you look at games like Brisbane, it’s finding consistent performances over four quarters,” Coniglio said. “Against Essendon, the first quarter, you saw a little bit and then we dropped away.
“We’re fluctuating at the moment. What do you put it down to? I’m not exactly sure yet but we’re going to keep working for an answer.”
“(The losses) were to good teams but I think we definitely left a couple of wins out there,” Whitfield added. “They stifled our ball movement and were good in the contest.
“I think we’re a pretty good attacking team and everyone knows that. So teams scout and do their best to stop that. The last month we’ve been moving the ball a bit slower than we’d like to.
“It’s just being able to arrest the momentum of teams … we just haven’t been able to rectify it yet. But we’ve got another opportunity this week.”
Originally published as How GWS Giants plan to bounce back after horror month losing three of four games
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