THEY came into the league with plenty of hype and Greater Western Sydney's top two draft picks made a promising start to their careers in a 33-point JLT Community Series win over West Coast in Narrandera on Saturday.
Tim Taranto and Will Setterfield were both touted as potential No.1 picks at last year's NAB AFL Draft, but the Giants secured them with picks two and five, with Setterfield the club's opening academy selection.
GWS v WC: Full match coverage and stats
Victorian Taranto was busy in the opening term as a small forward and finished with 21 possessions and five tackles against the Eagles, while Setterfield was damaging on a wing early, and gathered 16 touches on debut.
Both teenagers handled the occasion well and looked incredibly composed in traffic, with Setterfield's ball use by hand especially impressive.
"Will (Setterfield) obviously started well, he probably drifted out of the game in the middle part, but then his last quarter was really good," GWS coach Leon Cameron said.
"Tim (Taranto) just keeps on chugging along, he's got a really good engine and an appetite to work hard, but I thought all of our young guys had their moments.
"Harry Perryman showed some good signs, Jeremy Finlayson's been on our list for a few years, and some of those guys really put their hand up.
Highlights: Greater Western Sydney v West Coast
"Six of them (2016 draftees) played, as well as Matty Flynn from the previous year's draft, so that’s a big ask to play them in their first game all at once.
"No doubt they'll learn from what went right, as well as the areas they struggled in.
"We probably got lost halfway through the second quarter and in parts of the third, but it was good to finish on a high in the last quarter."
Another good sign for the Giants was the form of powerful forward Jon Patton, who provided a solid target inside 50, and moved well across the ground.
After a career-best season last year, Patton took seven marks and kicked three goals for the day, and again worked well with fellow tall Rory Lobb.
"We were really pleased for Jon (Patton)," Cameron said.
"He just needs to play footy, and we'll play him in two weeks (against Sydney) and in the following game after that as well.
"His hands were pretty good, I thought, when the game probably got a bit scrappy, I thought his ability to mark the ball and also lay it off was really good.
"He's had a fantastic pre-season but it's always interesting to see if you can transfer that form over, and I thought he did straight away today."
Will Setterfield in action against West Coast. Picture: AFL Photos
