A loss against arch rivals Sydney always goes down like a lead balloon at Greater Western Sydney, but a couple of players' performances are buoying Giants coach Adam Kingsley.
Off-season recruit Clayton Oliver's season so far has been strong, but his 37 disposals at 81 per cent efficiency against Sydney on Friday night was his best effort yet in charcoal and orange.
Oliver registered five tackles, nine score involvements and nine clearances in a display that Kingsley said is emblematic of how much effort he puts into his game on and off the track.
"(Oliver) is great company, he has fitted in seamlessly, he works long hours on his game," Kingsley said.
"He is there early, he is there late. Whether it's recovering from training sessions or games, whether it's working on his craft, he's certainly an expert in that. That's why he gets the results he does. He pours an enormous amount of work into his game.
"I have been really pleased with the transformation from Melbourne's game style to our game style and his willingness to get to work. The amount of work that he puts into his game is right up there with one of our best."
Giants utility Leek Aleer also impressed in the 41-point loss, playing as a ruck alongside Nick Madden.
Aleer kicked a goal and had eight score involvements from his 14 disposals while also registering 10 hit outs, with Kingsley confident Aleer can continue to develop as a high-leaping ruck.
"We were pretty pleased (with Aleer)," he said. "We just wanted to have a look more than anything. He has the draft camp record for running vertical, which is probably gonna suit centre bounce.
"I thought (Brodie) Grundy adjusted well and jumped early and jumped into him and tried to protect the space and did what experienced ruckmen do, but all in all, I thought Leek both in that part and then in the follow up and general play aspect was quite strong for us, so I can see that as something we go with moving forward."
Star Jesse Hogan was a late out for the Giants, Kinglsey said his gun key forward will be back for his side's next match.
"(Hogan) just had a cork out of the game on Sunday," he said.
"He had a 3.5km run around on Wednesday night when we trained and felt okay, but still was in a bit of discomfort, so we thought we would save him until the warm up, and it didn't quite warm up like we expected it to, so we made the change."
