A Giant milestone in Canberra
Greater Western Sydney reached yet another milestone in the club's short history with its clash against Geelong officially a sell out. 14,667 fans turned up to StarTrack Oval to see the Giants and the Cats in perfect weather for footy. The figure broke the record for the club's biggest ever crowd in Canberra, and just fell short of the ground's all time attendance record for an AFL match of 14,992 in 2006, when North Melbourne took on the Sydney Swans. It was great of the supporters of both teams to show up, but unfortunately for the home fans, their boys didn't. 

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Was it a mistake to drop Cam McCarthy?
The rising star nominee was omitted for the clash with the Cats after a patchy run of form, but the Giants' forward line looked short of marking options without him. The 20 year-old has kicked 32 goals from 15 games this season, but managed just four from his last four before being dropped. GWS coach Leon Cameron used young ruckmen Rory Lobb and Tom Downie as tall options alongside star Jeremy Cameron but both had no influence on the first half. The move of Adam Tomlinson at least gave the Giants a leading target after quarter-time to help Cameron, and it helped them turn the momentum of the match, albeit briefly, for the home side. 

Why did the Giants allow Steven Motlop to bring his own footy to Canberra?
The speedy Cat was allowed to do his own thing all day by the Giants and he ran riot. Motlop had 12 possessions and kicked a goal in the first term before improving to 21 and two majors by the main break. He set up Geelong's first two goals with penetrating passes to big man Tom Hawkins and broke the lines just about every time he had the ball in space, which was a lot. In a low scoring, scrappy affair when many of the players from both sides struggled to hit targets and finish in front of goal, Motlop stood out like a beacon. 

How important is a power forward?
Tom Hawkins is a monster of a man, and asserted himself on the game early in the opening term, and inspired his side. He kicked five goals for the day, and Geelong only managed nine. Hawkins had too much size and power for GWS youngster Aidan Corr and out-muscled him on several occasions, not to mention his experience. It was a puzzling decision from the Giants not to use Joel Patfull on Hawkins, as his impact just about won the Cats the four points. The 'Tomahawk' took eight marks for the day, five of them inside Geelong's forward 50, and kicked a goal from each of them. 

Are the young Giants running out of steam?
GWS was expected to use its speed and run to blow the Cats away, but it didn't happen, with the home side looking flat and sloppy for the entire game. Geelong had more disposals, more handball receives and uncontested possessions, all areas the home side would have expected to shade the Cats. Maybe it was an off day in Canberra, maybe they're in a hard training phase, or maybe they're beginning to feel the pinch of their high paced game style. There are certainly no panic stations for the Giants, but to have just 41 inside 50s for the match is a real worry. With just six games to go, the Giants have to win at least half of those to make the eight.