GREATER Western Sydney is one round into a four-week road trip that will determine its season, according to coach Leon Cameron.
Cameron, speaking after the Giants' resounding 79-point victory over the hapless Brisbane Lions at the Gabba, said the next few weeks will be vital for his team's fortunes.
"We've got four weeks on the road, this was the first one," Cameron said.
"We've got a huge game next Sunday against Port Adelaide; I think it's fantastic for our footy club and fantastic for Port Adelaide, they're obviously playing some great footy.
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"So this next month is probably going to sort us out, to see where we're at and where we're going to finish."
Following its challenging clash against an in-form Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval, GWS takes on Richmond in Canberra and Gold Coast at Metricon Stadium.
Despite the Giants’ comprehensive win, Cameron said he was not happy with how long it took the Giants to adjust to the rain in the second half.
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The Giants added only five goals to their total once the rain came halfway through the third quarter, after looking capable of beating their highest-ever score of 158 against Hawthorn earlier this year.
"I was disappointed at three-quarter time with the boys, in our last five minutes of the third quarter we didn't adapt to the rain,” Cameron said.
"I was quite animated about that because we just still thought we could flick the ball around, and we didn't adjust.
"Even in the first four or five minutes of the start of the last [quarter] we didn't, but I think as the quarter went on, we kept it in our part of the ground a fair bit, but those sort of things shouldn't take five minutes to do.
"We're four-and-a-half years into our stint in this tough competition, and players who are into their fourth or fifth year need to know, 'OK, rain, we need to use the ball a little bit better’, and we didn't do that well in the back end of the third (quarter).”
Cameron also praised third-year midfielder Josh Kelly, whose class showed with 26 disposals and three goals in often-slippery conditions.
"We make no secret that we went and got him three years ago, and he's everything that we could possibly ask for.
"He's a young leader of this footy club, his preparation is just absolutely first-class and he's admired by all of our players at our footy club because he goes about his business every week."
Rory Lobb left the field in the last quarter with a toe injury, but Cameron said he should be fine to face Port Adelaide next week.
