IF GREATER Wester Sydney wanted to use outside scrutiny to fuel a mid-season revival it would have plenty to work with, but co-captain Phil Davis has backed his club to find its own way out of a worrying form slump.
The Giants won three of their first four matches this season to sit on top of the ladder, but have tasted victory only once since, and have plummeted to 11th on the back of four straight defeats.
In that time the club's percentage has dropped from 139.8 to 97.8, and it has failed to kick more than 80 points in a single match.
An extensive injury list has had a crippling effect on the Giants' team, with the likes of Davis, Josh Kelly, Toby Greene, Tom Scully, Zac Williams, Brett Deledio, Matt de Boer and Rory Lobb all missing multiple games.
Coach Leon Cameron, his support staff and his players have copped a wave of criticism from those outside the club, with plenty of it warranted, but Davis said on Tuesday that the scrutiny of those not part of the Giants set-up doesn't worry him in the slightest.
"To be honest I take it with a grain of salt," he said.
"Each to their own with their opinions, but from my point of view, we've got some very senior coaches and players that know what football is all about.
"If we have to rely on other people saying negative things about us to get better, then we've got a few issues I reckon.
"If you're using that as motivation it's a short-term solution and that doesn't fix our issues.
"We're a very honest footy club, we understand where we are, we understand that we need to get better, and we don't need 'Joe Blow' telling us that to motivate us.
While the Giants' form has been on a downward trend in recent weeks, Davis said there's a lot of footy still to be played in season 2018.
The skipper used the example of Melbourne – which has won its past five matches - to point out that it doesn't take long for a club's fortunes to turn around.
"I think I was reading articles a few weeks ago that they were gone when they were 2-3, now all of a sudden they're the greatest side ever," he said.
"Things can change very, very quickly, we've got a lot of journalists that need to write articles, and all of a sudden people get impatient and need things to happen.
"From our point of view, it's round 10 and if we don't fix it we're in a lot of trouble, but there are 12 games to go, the season is not over."
The better news for the Giants on the injury front is that Davis is expected to return to face his former club Adelaide on Sunday, after missing the past two matches with concussion.
The key defender copped an accidental elbow against West Coast at Spotless Stadium in round eight but has resumed training with the main squad and only has to pass some further tests to play against the Crows.
"Concussion is always scary and it's something we've got to take extremely seriously as an AFL industry," he said.
"You can always get a knee replacement, you can't quite get a brain replacement, so you've got to be extra cautious.
"I'm very happy to be enjoying my life and getting ready to play on Sunday."
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