GWS coach Adam Kingsley says the momentum generated from a six-game winning streak has his players excited but not complacent after the Giants broke into the AFL top eight with a 40-point win over Gold Coast.
The Giants slotted six goals to one in the third term to blow away the Suns at Manuka Oval on Sunday, snapping a nine-game losing streak in Canberra.
Skipper Toby Greene sparked his side up forward with three goals, becoming the influential forward-half factor they needed to see off a feisty Gold Coast outfit.
Kingsley’s men are now 10-8 and a massive chance to play in the finals in his first season in charge after their campaign looked close to dead when they were 4-8 after round 12.
But with matches against Western Bulldogs (fifth) and Port Adelaide (second) in the next three weeks to test their finals credentials, the GWS boss still won’t let his troops look too far ahead.
“We're capable (of playing finals), but there's still games to go and we've got to beat teams around us and above us,” Kingsley said.
“Clearly we're thereabouts, but we've still got plenty of work to do and we're not getting ahead of ourselves.
“We're sitting in the finals right now but that can change really quickly, and we're mindful we've got to remain really hungry for each contest.
“And we know we need to play at our best to beat these teams, if we dish up anything less than our best we won't win.”
Stifled early, the Giants clicked into gear with a powerful third term that featured six goals all from different players, turning an arm-wrestle into a comfortable win as prime movers Lachie Whitfield, Stephen Coniglio and Josh Kelly sliced through the Suns at will.
Defensive resilience was again huge as they conceded less than 75 points for a sixth straight week, gun backs Harry Himmelberg and Sam Taylor combining for 22 marks while keeping Suns pillars Levi Casboult and Ben King to one goal between them.
It was a disappointing fade-out from a Suns side that led by seven points at quarter-time on the back of a six-clearance opening term from Sam Flanders, only for GWS to fire back with three straight goals in the second to grab a lead they’d never surrender.
Their minimal chances of playing finals under interim coach Steven King are quickly fading, six points out of the eight having been exposed in the second half by the in-form Giants.
“We fought and scrapped really well in that first half, GWS are a good team, they're in good form, we knew they'd be up for a contest and they'd be really damaging,” King said.
“We hung in there for a half, our contested ball pressure was really good … we weren't able to punish GWS and we had our opportunities, and then that fuelled their turnover game and made it really hard for us to defend.
“It's just really important as a club we take away the learnings and the lessons from today's game ... then just get better and that continual process of improving each week.”
Flanders finished with 31 disposals and nine clearances and was comfortably his side’s best.
Fullback Sam Collins was also strong with 22 touches and 11 marks.
