GWS are a rung below the AFL’s best, down on confidence and next face grand-final tormentors Richmond, but coach Leon Cameron is adamant they can fight back into form.

The Giants suffered a 20-point loss to Brisbane on Saturday afternoon at Giants Stadium, paying the price for a slow start in which they conceded four-consecutive goals.

Cameron stresses it is too early to hit the panic button after a 3-4 start, even in a condensed season, in which they sit outside the top eight and only 10 rounds remain.

But he didn’t hide his disappointment, or the challenge confronting the expansion club, after the Lions loss.

“We are a rung off the topliners at the moment,” Cameron told reporters.

“We’re in that (mid-table) logjam – win a couple and lose a couple.

“The boys are down a bit on confidence … they’re disappointed.

“We’ve got to fight through this as a footy club; you’ve got to hang in there when things aren’t going well. We’ve done it in the past few years and I’m really backing our players in to do it again.”

Cameron added it wouldn’t get any easier for his team on Friday night, hosting the reigning premiers at Giants Stadium.

“If you wallow in pity and say ‘poor us’, then you’re not getting anywhere,” Cameron said.

The round-eight clash will be the sides’ first regular-season meeting since Richmond’s 89-point win over GWS in the 2019 grand final.

Cameron is upbeat star forward Toby Greene, who had been a late scratching from Saturday’s contest, will return against the Tigers.

“But whether Toby comes in or not, we can’t rely on one player,” he said.

“We’ve built a reputation where we’ve had to deal with injuries in the past and we’ve dealt with them pretty well.”