GREATER Western Sydney denies specifically targeting new Sydney Swan Lance Franklin on Saturday, with Giants forward Jonathon Patton insisting the former Hawk was simply outplayed by Phil Davis.
The Swans' marque signing got sidetracked by an off-the-ball wrestle and looked far from his best in slippery conditions as the Giants upset their cross-town rivals with a historic 32-point victory.
Franklin was hotly tipped to join the Giants late last year before the Swans swooped and sealed the superstar's signature on an unprecedented nine-year, $10 million deal.
But Patton told SEN radio on Monday there was no thought of taking revenge of Franklin revenge heading into the contest, arguing that the game's highest-profile player was simply beaten by GWS co-captain Phil Davis.
"Nah, [no plan] at all to be honest. I know Phil (Davis) did a bit of homework on him and watched a few of his pre-season games; obviously he's a very good player but Phil's a very good player in his own right," Patton said.
"He did an amazing job on Buddy on the weekend, the conditions probably didn't suit Buddy, but at the end of the day Phil definitely got the better of him."
Patton performed superbly in his return from a knee reconstruction, collecting 13 disposals, four marks and booting three goals, including the game's sealer.
Reigning All Australian Jeremy Cameron kicked four majors, but Giants coach Leon Cameron said Patton's display was the highlight of the forward line.
"I thought (Ted) Richards had the better of Jeremy in the first half … the big story was Jon Patton coming back from a knee reconstruction," Cameron told Triple M radio on Monday morning.
"After having not a lot of luck in his first few years at AFL level and just to go through his rehab program for it, it helped build the resilience about the way he goes things now.
"Just to see him keep chipping away and keep chipping away, he started pretty slowly on his comeback trail but the last couple of weeks he's really gained some momentum and his efforts are really headed in the right direction."
