SYDNEY coach Scott Gowans has come out swinging ahead of this week's derby against Greater Western Sydney, claiming the Swans will "get there quicker" than the Giants.
The two New South Wales teams will go head-to-head on Sunday at North Sydney Oval, marking the opening of the Giants' eighth AFLW season and the Swans' second.
"There's a great feeling, you always want to take on your local family member and do well against them. I think the girls are looking forward to it, a few of them know each other and we've got a few ex-GWS players," Gowans said on Wednesday.
"They're an inaugural side and they've got some interesting stats when you look at their profile – they've had three coaches since their inauguration, and I think they've played 56 or 57 games of football. If you divide that, it's about 18 games per coach, so they've got a bit of work to do.
"Everyone looks at us and says our processes and strategies and culture, but that's also on them as well, on doing that. We go into the game thinking they haven't got theirs right, either.
"We know we're on the right path, and it's really important for us to realise we're not coming up against a side that's performed really well.
"It's no disrespect to them, but they're probably the least-performing side out of the inaugural clubs. So they've got a bit of work to do with that, which is fine, and we think we'll get there quicker than them."
A slightly bemused GWS coach Cam Bernasconi played down the comments, preferring to focus on his own side in his second season in charge, having finished 11th to the Swans' winless 18th last year.
"It's some strong comments. To be honest, I'm just really focused on what we do. We're really keen on just making sure we can control everything we can inside these four walls and we've got lots of belief in where we're going.
"We've got, I think, the youngest list in the AFLW at the moment. We've also kept a lot of our experience as well. We believe we're in a really good position to improve and absolutely get back into a position where we're playing at the top end of the year and finals.
"I think along the way as well, eight years into AFLW, you're constantly evolving and changing as well, but we probably feel really confident in the way we've prepared and where the list sits. We'll probably more worry about what we can control."
Gowans was also asked about the need to increase scoring in the AFLW, and said he wanted to move away from the current 16-a-side arrangement.
"I think it should be 18-a-side, and hopefully we can get to that stage, because 18-a-side will help us move the ball on the bigger grounds and get a bit more connection.
"If I wasn't coaching and I wanted to go and watch a game of football, I'd want to see scoring. There are still a few sides that throw numbers behind the ball and try to bottle it up and just get stoppage after stoppage.
"But that won't be us, we're quite open with that. We just want to take the game on and when sides get momentum, we'll try to get it back by playing some good footy.
"That's the brand we want to build and to be honest, it's not about the first win, it's not about the second win, it's about building something for the future. We want to build a sustainable profile that sells memberships, gets people to the ground and builds the game of AFLW."
