Greater Western Sydney coach Kevin Sheedy reckons his winless AFL team will be very good in around three to four weeks, with his youngsters also getting a stamp of endorsement from West Coast counterpart John Worsfold.
The Eagles steamrolled the Giants by 81 points at Blacktown on Sunday, but Sheedy said his men were heading in the right direction.
Optimism, despite three losses of well over 50 points, was based on the players scheduled to return to the team in the next few weeks.
Veteran midfielder James McDonald will be back from suspension next weekend after missing two matches, while ex-Carlton forward Setanta o’hAilpin made his return from a leg injury in Sunday’s lower-league game against Sydney Hills Eagles.
Additionally, No.1 draft pick and key forward Jonathon Patton is still on track to come back from knee surgery in around a month.
“We will probably be a very good side, I think, in about three or four weeks,” Sheedy said.
“We’re going to get players like Jonathon Patton in, Taylor Adams and then, all of a sudden, we get the happy Irishman back in, Setanta.
“That dirty rotten ex-Melbourne captain McDonald, that thug, and all of a sudden, we are going to be an annoying side.”
Sheedy was pleased with the way the Giants stuck to their task against a red-hot West Coast side which he described as having “one of the tallest giant forward lines I’ve ever seen in the history of the AFL”.
While rugby league convert Israel Folau had another quiet game, Sheedy insisted the rookie could have kicked 3.1 had his teammates picked him out at various stages of the game.
Sheedy and Worsfold pointed to the outstanding performance on Saturday of the other league convert Karmichael Hunt, as evidence of what Folau could produce given time, with Sheedy adamant he would remain in the senior side.
Worsfold had no doubt about the long-term potential of the Giants.
“There was some exciting ball movement by GWS in that last quarter – they were pretty crisp,” Worsfold said.
“They are going to be an awesome footy club and it will take time, but they’ve got some real talent on their list.”
Although the first AFL game at Blacktown attracted a modest crowd of 6875, Sheedy said he would like to see up to two competition games played there in future seasons.
