Greater Western Sydney’s Phil Davis insists the Giants’ young backline is standing up despite the four straight losses that have predictably kicked off their inaugural AFL season.
The Giants have conceded the most points of all 18 clubs – 529 after four rounds – to sit solidly adrift on the bottom of the ladder with a percentage of 39.70.
All up, they’ve been beaten by 319 points – their smallest defeat a 46-point drubbing at the hands of Adelaide last weekend which, by all counts, was their best performance so far.
Davis admitted final margins are just one of the challenges the Giants must face this year, given only he and Luke Power have more than one season’s experience under their belt.
“We’ve had over 60 (defensive) inside-50s in most games – not sure about the stats from the weekend – so there’s definitely a lot of ball coming in,” he said on Monday.
“That’s a bit different to most teams.
“But if you look at the performances of Adam Kennedy, Tom Bugg, Tim Mohr, Jack Hombsch, they’ve been very, very good this year.
“That’s been a real success for us.”
Canberra-born Davis returns to some familiar surroundings this Saturday when the Giants take on the Western Bulldogs at their adopted part-time home at Canberra’s Manuka Oval.
They’ll play three games there this season as part of a 10-year deal with the ACT government.
It’ll be akin to starting with a clean slate for the Giants, Davis said, who are hoping to make Canberra a fortress in matches against the Dogs, Gold Coast and Melbourne this year.
The Giants and Bulldogs will face off on Saturday for the Prime Minister’s Cup, a new initiative drawing on Julia Gillard’s status as the Bulldogs’ No.1 ticket holder.
The match is being sold as the first true battle between Melbourne and Sydney’s west.
Ian Whitchurch
Guest
Pillock, 17 points at halftime against Adelaide, after outscoring them in the second quarter. Frankly, Adelaide were hearing footsteps.
Pillock
Roar Rookie
Teams playing GWS will treat the game a rest game for their key players or if they need too as a percentage booster. It will be interesting at the end of the season if a club needs percentage to get onto the eight try to blast GWS off the field and belt them by 15 goals. In a way they are serving a purpose but not the one they were intended too.
Macca
Guest
I think you will find they are doing it more than most. Strangely not every team uses the same tactics, if you watch a few games you might pick that up.
Fish and Chips
Guest
About the same as every other team I guess. Its called flooding and its a defensive tactic as I understand it.
MFB1991
Guest
There could be a problem marketing this game as the battle between Melbourne's and Sydney's west. Namely, its being played in Canberra. I'm not sure if the good people of western Sydney regard Canberra with any fondness, and vice versa.
Macca
Guest
How many players are GWS getting behind the ball each week t help out the backline?