LACHIE Whitfield might lack the dash of Zac Williams and the prodigious boot of Nathan Wilson, but he's been a revelation since being sent into defence for Greater Western Sydney this year.
Wilson's departure to Fremantle during last year's NAB AFL Trade Period, coupled with Williams' ruptured Achilles in January that could sideline him for the entire season, left the Giants without their two best running defenders for 2018.
Veteran Ryan Griffen and youngsters Harry Perryman and Isaac Cumming were the names thrown about to fill the void across half back, but all three have struggled with injury over the past month, and it's been Whitfield who has stepped in to be one of the finds of the pre-season.
The former No.1 draft pick dominated the AFLX tournament and carried that form into the JLT Community Series, adapting to his new role with ease.
Teammate Adam Tomlinson isn't surprised with the way Whitfield has made his impressive move from the wing into defence.
"'Whitters' has played a really pivotal role in the last few weeks, he's played some unbelievable footy off half-back," he said.
"He's a phenomenal ball user on both sides of his body and he's been able to defend, but because he reads the game so well he's been able to capitalise on that.
"I have to tell him to turn his head every now and then (to man up) but he's been pretty good.
"He's got good speed so he's able to close out a fair few times as well, so he's been doing really well."
Tomlinson, Phil Davis and Aidan Corr are the Giants' three key defenders but their round one opponents the Western Bulldogs are lacking tall targets, which could force the Giants to shuffle on Sunday when they clash in Canberra.
The versatility of the GWS backline has been one of their strengths in recent seasons and Tomlinson sees it as a massive positive when it comes to taking on teams like the Dogs.
"With their smaller forward line they've probably got the edge at ground level, but we'll just try and combat that in the air and bring as much pressure as we can," he said.
"The best part about our backline is that we've all got different attributes and have shown the ability to play on different opposition.
"Phil can play on the smalls, I love to try and run off, and Corr has got some express pace."
