GREATER Western Sydney coach Leon Cameron believes Ryan Griffen's best footy as a Giant is still ahead of him after the former Bulldog helped inspire the club's upset win over Hawthorn.

In his best game for his new club, Griffen had 24 possessions, nine clearances and four tackles in the Giants' stunning 10-point win over the reigning premiers, and kicked a crucial goal in the tense final term.

The ex-Bulldogs captain has struggled for consistency this season, but Cameron says Griffen's impact at the club on his younger teammates has been significant.

WATCH: Leon Cameron's full press conference

"He's gone week on, week off, its just taking him a little while to settle in terms of what his teammates know he's capable of, and probably what he's capable of," Cameron said.

"Its always interesting - some can actually settle really quickly and jump out of the blocks and become an instant hit.

"Griff has been an instant hit in a number of ways. Dylan Shiel and Adam Treloar love Ryan Griffen playing, because the opposition will go after Ryan Griffen.

"He's had to deal with that for the seven or eight years of his footy life, but he's starting to work out the connection he has with Shane Mumford, the connection he has with the other midfielders.

"I was really proud of him, because he knew he struggled last week, and being a leader I knew he'd stand up, and I thought he did tonight."

After last week's embarrassing 87-point loss to West Coast, GWS responded in perfect fashion against the Hawks, and Cameron says the secret of his team's success is pretty simple.

"We know that there is some talent on our list, but it means nothing if we don't work hard, and last week, we worked hard for 45 minutes out of 120. If you do that you're going to get smashed," Cameron said.

"The commitment from the 22 that went out there was to smother and tackle and chase and harass, and play a brand of footy that regardless of the score, they can look at each other and say they had a fair dinkum go.

"If we bring that then we know that some of our talent can shine, and if we don't, we're open to getting beaten any week."

While the scalp of the reigning premiers should give the Giants plenty of self-belief, Cameron says he won't know until next week's game against Carlton at Etihad Stadium.

"Time will tell, it can go one of two ways. It can help you, and make you believe that you're a genuine threat to most opposition sides if you turn up," Cameron said.

"Or, if you take your foot off the pedal and read too much into it, then the opposition you confront the next week will come after you twice as hard and knock you over."

Ryan Griffen is becoming an integral part of the Giants' team. Picture: AFL Media