GREATER Western Sydney coach Leon Cameron believes his side has the speed and running power to take on – and beat – any side in the competition, after the Giants steamrolled Melbourne in the second half of their 45-point win in Canberra.
GWS went into half time trailing by 27-points but produced a stunning third quarter to pile on nine unanswered goals. The Giants kicked 9.2 to 0.3 – their highest scoring quarter ever – to blow the Demons out of the contest.
With the likes of Stephen Coniglio, Dylan Shiel and Devon Smith running riot, the Giants cashed in and made their opponents look less than second rate in the process. From late in the second term until midway through the last, GWS kicked 14 goals in a row.
It was a scary display from the home side and Cameron says it's the kind of football the club is capable of.
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"Absolutely, we talked about our counter-attack, we talked about our run. There's a belief amongst the group that we can out-run the opposition and we've seen that today," Cameron said.
"I think it's an exciting brand of footy that we played in that third quarter, but it has to come from the belief of our players."
"This competition is just brutal. People probably wouldn't have thought that we'd be 2-0 at the start of the season, so anyone can beat anyone on any given day. It's how your mind is set and how you attack the contest."
The Giants looked a totally different outfit in the second half, after an error-riddled opening two quarters saw them kick just two goals, despite having eight more inside-50s than Melbourne.
"There's no doubt we wasted a few opportunities in the first 15 minutes of the game, and we probably went back to last year, you know, a young side when you don't hit the scoreboard it deflates them a bit," Cameron said.
Midfielders Coniglio, Shiel, Smith and Josh Kelly typified the new breed of Giant. They ran in waves going forward, but also hunted in packs when Melbourne won the footy, and the Dees crumbled under the onslaught.
WATCH: Click here to watch Leon Cameron's full press conference
"Our tackle pressure I thought was pretty good in the first half, we just didn't get the rewards from it. But in the second half clearly our intent to tackle went up even more and we started to get the rewards from that," Cameron said.
"Stephen Coniglio played a really good role on Nathan Jones, but it wasn't just that role, it was his tackle pressure that really inspired our young lads."
The winners will rest up ahead of a now much-anticipated clash with the Sydney Swans at the SCG next week in front of what should be a record crowd for the Sydney derby.
"It's fantastic, it gives us a great opportunity. We're building a real rivalry and the first couple of years we couldn't say that because our kids were short by about a quarter each game we played," Cameron said.
"They're a terrific team, they're a top two team. We'll gain some confidence from this, but I think the main thing we'll gain confidence from is that our guys didn't panic.
"To re-focus and come out and display that brand of footy is exciting, but if you drop your guard there's a team around the corner ready to knock you over."
Giants players were in fine voice after the win on Saturday afternoon. Picture: AFL Media
