GREATER Western Sydney coach Leon Cameron insists the MCG is no bogey ground for his team, arguing a woeful record of 13 losses from 15 attempts should not be stripped of context.
The Giants face Hawthorn at the home of football on Sunday, with Cameron far more concerned about the fired-up opposition than his team's past form at the iconic venue.
GWS, boosted by the return of gun midfielder Josh Kelly, is returning to the MCG for the first time since its 10-point loss to Collingwood in last year's semi-final.
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The Giants' 2017 campaign also ended at the same ground, when eventual premiers Richmond trumped them by 36 points in a preliminary final.
"You've got to put it in perspective, that record," Cameron told reporters on Thursday.
"You can't count the first three years, because we probably weren't competitive enough to play.
"Last year in round two, we beat Collingwood down there.
"But people are going to forget that, (because) we played Collingwood in a final and got beaten."
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Access to the MCG during the regular season has been a fixture bugbear for non-Victorian clubs, including GWS.
The expansion club started their season at the MCG in 2016 but never returned that year.
Their sole 2017 regular-season outing at the ground was a 19-point loss to the rampaging Tigers, while in 2018 they beat Collingwood in round two then lost to Melbourne in round 23.
The Giants are relishing the fact that two of their next three games are at the ground that will host the Grand Final.
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"Is it good to have an opportunity to play at the G? Absolutely," Cameron said.
"You take those opportunities and cherish them.
"But equally, as I said to our boys during the week, it doesn't matter where you play Hawthorn this week. It's going to be on."
The Giants conquered one hoodoo earlier this year in style, recording their maiden victory in Geelong despite co-captain Callan Ward suffering a season-ending knee injury early in the game.
"We'd struggled earlier on at Geelong," Cameron said.
"But those early years against Geelong, it was hard to win when you had a side that had an average age of 18 or 19."
That round-four epic is Geelong’s only loss of 2019 but Cameron isn't getting carried away with that fact, nor the Giants' 5-2 start that has most pundits declaring them premiership contenders.
"We were 3-1, got beaten by Fremantle and we're the worst side in the competition," he said.
