GREATER Western Sydney's forward line is stacked with stars and full of goals, but its defensive work remains an ongoing issue for coach Leon Cameron.

A quick look at the Champion Data statistics shows that the Giants' forward potency is outstanding, but their work when they don't have the footy in hand is lacklustre at best.

Saturday night's clash with Richmond should show the Giants where they need to be, given the Tigers lead the AFL in forward 50 tackles with 15.4 a game this season. Cameron's men are ranked 17th with only 9.1 a game, two below the competition average.

In terms of pressure acts inside 50, Richmond's Daniel Rioli (12), Jason Castagna (17), and Jack Riewoldt (48) are all ranked inside the AFL's top 50, but Devon Smith (25) is the only Giant to rate a mention and he won't be on the field on Saturday night thanks to a knee injury.

The Giants fare even worse, according to Champion Data's forward 50 pressure factor. They are last in the league, while Richmond's group are ranked second.

Gun goalkicker Jeremy Cameron leads the Coleman Medal tally with 28 goals after eight rounds, and told AFL.com.au that he and his fellow forwards know exactly where they're at and they're determined to make changes.

"Last year we were quite good in that defensive area of tackles and creating stoppages inside our 50, but we had a look at rounds 1-5 this year and it wasn't up to standard," he said.

"We sat down and discussed how we can get more stoppages and tackles down there, and I think it's gotten a lot better since then.

"It's definitely an important area of the game and the teams that do it the best normally score the most.

"Richmond do it quite well, they've got a lot of small guys down there, and even their big guys tackle well, so I reckon it's going to be a good little battle for our backs, and obviously their backs, because we want to do the same thing."

The Giants' hopes of toppling the Tigers are helped with 2016 club champion and All Australian Toby Greene returning from suspension. Cameron believes that his class, coupled with the enthusiasm and scrapping work of second-gamer Daniel Lloyd and fellow rookie Sam Reid, will give the GWS forwards a massive lift.

"His contested marking is great for his size and he wins his own ball, whether it's in the air or on the ground, so it's great to have him come back in," he said.

"He's going to be pretty fresh off a little spell and he's raring to go, so we're pretty excited about that."