GWS coach Leon Cameron has revealed what went wrong at the Giants last season.
A year after playing in the 2019 Grand Final, the Giants missed out on the finals for the first time in five years and lost key forward Jeremy Cameron to Geelong.
In an exclusive interview with Michael Whiting from AFL.com.au, Cameron spoke for the first time about why the Giants struggled in 2020 and what they will do differently to climb up the ladder in 2021.
According to Cameron, the core of the Giants' struggles was from a lack of appetite in the middle of the contest
"For whatever reason, whether it was their appetite, the effect the year before had on them, it's irrelevant. We need to get back to earning our stripes in there [the midfield]," Cameron told AFL.com.au.
"Our midfield wants to be known as two-way runners, they want to get back to the coalface and win the contested ball, work hard for each other."
The Giants also lacked dare to attack the middle of the field, despite their quality ball handlers and key forward targets.
Cameron acknowledges this as an area of concern that will be addressed in 2021 by giving his players freedom to express themselves.
"We need to bounce back with our appetite, our contested method," Cameron said.
"We need to get back to playing a tough brand of footy, we need to move the ball in a manner we can disturb the opposition like we did two years ago, and clearly we need to have a better approach with our all-in defensive method.
"If we can do those three things better than we did last year, we feel as though we can disturb a lot of sides.
The Giants will get their chance to turn their fortunes around when they take on Sydney at Blacktown International Sportspark in the AFL Community Series on Saturday, February 20.
They will then begin the season with a home match against St Kilda on Sunday, March 21.
