GREATER Western Sydney's chances of toppling Melbourne on Sunday, and more importantly winning a game at the MCG, hinge on the players' attitudes, club champion Lachie Whitfield says.
The Giants have lost 14 of their 16 matches at the 'G, and won just once since 2014, but get the opportunity to have another crack at it this weekend.
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After two of the Giants' three losses this season – against Fremantle at UNSW Canberra Oval in round five and Hawthorn at the MCG in round eight – the players have spoken openly about a lack of focus costing them in games against lower-ranked opponents.
GWS responded to those defeats by belting Sydney at the SCG and Carlton at Giants Stadium and look primed to take on the Demons this week after their dismantling of the Blues.
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Whitfield returned to the senior side after missing two games with injury to gather 40 possessions and kick three goals against Carlton, and ahead of his team's latest trip to the MCG said success against the Demons would come down to attitude.
"It's a tough one, you try and prepare the same every week and be as switched on as you can, and sometimes you are and sometimes you're not," he said.
"If we had the answers we'd probably win every game.
"But it's pretty easy to fix – it's just a mental thing, we just need to be switched on, that’s all.
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"It's a mindset, we need to get ourselves prepared to play on the 'G which is a bigger ground.
"We know it's a really big game for us and we need to play well."
The Giants and coach Leon Cameron came in for some fierce criticism from the media after the performance against the Hawks, when they kicked just five goals for the afternoon and looked anything but a premiership contender.
Whitfield denied the team had been affected by it in the lead-up to round nine but admitted that any harsh words the team copped were warranted.
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The 24-year-old said it was up to the players to ensure the team was ready to face Melbourne, not Cameron and his staff.
"It's been player-driven my whole career," he said.
"We definitely got a whack from the coaches (after the Hawthorn loss) but we spoke as a playing group as well about preparing better and getting the mental side of the game right.
"There's only so much you can talk about, we know what we did wrong and you need to know how to fix it.
"We had a big week on the track (ahead of the Carlton game) honing our defensive skills because we needed to get better with our organisation and communication on defence."
When they play attractive, free-flowing footy like they did against the Blues, the Giants are the competition's most watchable side.
However, while some might think those results come off the back of the team's talent, they come from a much more important source.
"It's fun when everyone is getting involved and everyone is kicking goals," he said.
"But (more importantly) we get excited by playing good defence.
"Watching footy at the moment, whatever team brings the hunt (on the opposition) early is winning.
"If we can bring our hunt then our ball movement and transition comes off the back of that."
