The Giants have a defensive problem.
Alarms are going off everywhere, whether you look at the numbers or base it on the eye test.
Leon Cameron’s men were actually pretty good without the footy last year, when they managed to buck a slow start and go on to win a final.
But they’ve plummeted from ranking sixth in the AFL for denying scores per inside 50 in 2021, to 16th in that category in each of the first two rounds.
Recent history tells us that Greater Western Sydney performs only as well as it defends, given it’s won just once out of 13 occasions since the start of last year when the oppositxjmtzywion scores more than 80 points.
The Giants are 11-1 in the same period when the opposite is true.
For me, it all starts with the defensive breakdowns we are seeing all too often and what seems the increasing mistrust among teammates about what will happen at stoppages.
This is a team that is traditionally strong at scoring from that source but the problem is GWS is leaking more than it produces.
Just last week, Richmond scored 36 more points from stoppages than the Giants, including 7.1 out of the middle despite GWS winning the centre clearances by one.
That’s very concerning for the Giants’ midfield boss Mark McVeigh.
I love that Braydon Preuss will make his club debut, because using Tom Green as a relief ruckman is not sustainable.
There are two trends arising: one is too much indecision on whether to ‘press’ hard at the opposition ball-carrier and the other is a tendency to retreat, which opens space for rivals to work in.
Jarrod Brander made a significant mistake early in the second half against the Tigers, when he gravitated too close to a stoppage in a passage that ended with Marlion Pickett marking uncontested 25m from goal.
Those types of plays don’t happen to good teams.
It’s why I believe full-back Phil Davis, who will miss two months and potentially more with a serious hamstring injury, is going to be a huge loss.
Davis is GWS’s best traffic cop, in that he oversees the defensive structure and tries to avoid these types of breakdowns.
Heath Shaw was great at that previously but Sam Taylor must step up now and become that person. More will be expected of Nick Haynes and Isaac Cumming, too.
I often use the term ‘snap transition’ to emphasise players’ need to switch immediately from an offensive to defensive mindset, and I’d like to see more of that from the Giants.
They are the third-easiest club to move the Sherrin against from a defensive 50 to an inside 50, and their team defence and ability to squeeze the ground to create a front-half game remains questionable.
At 0-2, time is already running out for GWS, even factoring in its ability to rally last season.
The Giants will be in an 0-3 hole if these problems aren’t remedied this weekend against Gold Coast, ahead of difficult road trips against Fremantle and Melbourne in the following fortnight.
It’s hard to see even Toby Greene’s return rescuing GWS if he returns after five-straight losses.
