GWS coach Leon Cameron has come out in defence of his floundering team, acknowledging that they will confront their form slump "head on" while accepting the scrutiny over his position.
The Giants were blown away by Melbourne on Saturday night, with their 67-point loss relegating the team to a 1-4 tally after a finals appearance in 2021.
Cameron's men looked devoid of answers in the third term as the reigning premiers piled on 10 goals to two before continuing their unbeaten streak for another week.
"We're flat. We're in a form slump. We're 1-4, we're not going to hide away from it," Cameron said post-game.
"We contributed to the third quarter. It's not just Melbourne, we made some poor decisions, we gave the ball back to them, they punished us – end of story.
"We have to own up to our end of the bargain and we're not getting some basic fundamentals right. We're not scoring off turnover, we're not punishing the opposition when we have a chance, we're making silly mistakes and the opposition, like Melbourne who are the best, really hurt you.
"We've got some players down on form. We're in a form slump and in this you have to front it head on. We're not going to run away from it. Round six we're on in six days against St Kilda, they're flying at 4-1 and the only way to hit this competition when you're in a form slump is to keep backing up and taking the little wins."
"If I sat here and said there's not pressure on the senior coach I'd be lying to you, wouldn't I? There's pressure everywhere. Is there going to be more scrutiny on us next week? Absolutely," he said.
"But if I'm asking my players not to shy away from it and hit it head on then it would be pretty ordinary if the coach doesn't. I've been there a number of years where we've been in similar positions and a bit off our tucker and down on form and I back myself in and back our coaching staff in to do that."
GWS' fourth loss of the season comes just two weeks after Cameron confirmed contract negotiations between himself and the club were on hold until after the season.
"When you've been involved in a club for near-on 10 years you want to make the right decision. Sometimes clubs probably don't get that right, and we've seen that in the past, and they have regrets. I don't want us to have any regrets" Cameron said after the Round 3 win over Gold Coast.
The ninth-year coach is currently contracted until the end of the 2022 season.
The Giants will earn a shot at redemption when they travel to the nation's capital to face the white-hot Saints to kickstart Round 6 on Friday night.
