GREATER Western Sydney coach Cam Bernasconi believes the Giants are just "a few key players away" from taking a significant step forward, insisting the club must nail the upcoming national draft to fully capitalise on its highly rated Academy crop.

According to Bernasconi, Gold Coast has provided the blueprint for what GWS hopes to achieve through its own Academy, after the Suns loaded up on homegrown talent at the 2025 Telstra AFLW Draft.

The Suns secured eight Academy graduates, including six of the first 15 selections: Sunny Lappin, Ava Usher, Georja Davies, Alannah Welsh, Mikayla Nurse and Dekota Baron, with Bronte Parker and Rhianna Ingram completing the haul. The six top-15 selections came at picks No.4, No.7, No.9, No.12, No.13 and No.15 respectively.

With the Giants preparing to tap into their own talent pool, Bernasconi said the club has "a number of first-round draft picks" coming through and must ensure it has the draft capital to secure them. 

The Giants' 2026 female Academy crop is headlined by Majella Day, Morgan Stevens, Zoe Curry and Darcie Prosser-Shaw, who were identified by the club among its standout emerging talent entering the season.

"I think their Academy draft haul last year was the big step, right? They had a really strong year through their pathway, and they had the ability to make sure they accumulated enough points through the signing, trade and draft to get them all,” Bernasconi said on Tuesday.

"Then they took a massive step forward. I've worked in talent pathways before; it's not every year in the northern states you're blessed with having multiple first-round picks. They had theirs last year, and we've got ours this year. We've got a number of first-round draft picks in our Giants Academy. So, it's making sure that we set our draft hand up to ensure that when a bid comes, we're able to match it.

"Then, the advantage of taking young talent is step one. Having a national draft allows us to improve, but the other advantage is having an AFLW Academy. You bring in players from your Academy; they know the game plan, they know the system, they've trained a number of times, and they've met the players a number of times. It's a luxury as a coach to have them.

"So there are massive advantages that you've seen Gold Coast take full advantage of this year, and there are things there we'll model and implement in the upcoming draft as well."

Before attention turns fully to the post-season, GWS has one final chance to measure its progress against the team whose rebuild Bernasconi hopes to emulate, with the Giants hosting the Suns at Henson Park in their season finale.

“I love playing against a quality side because I'm really confident we'll be able to match it with them,” Bernasconi said.

Despite struggling to convert competitive performances into wins this season, Bernasconi believes the Giants' ability to challenge the competition's better sides shows their rebuild is heading in the right direction.

"In the past, if we played a top-four or top-eight side, we'd struggle to hold on, whereas now it feels like we're putting ourselves in positions in every game to win,” he said.

"So now it's just understanding how we take that final step. On the weekend, we generated more inside 50s. Our contest was an arm wrestle the whole game; I think it was only a differential of one in ground balls on a wet day. So we are taking strides forward.

"I just really hope that we can sing the song this weekend for the playing group, especially for a few of our important staff and players who are playing their last game for us this weekend."

Former captain Alicia Eva will play her final AFLW match against the Suns on Sunday before moving into the next phase of her football career.

Bernasconi hopes to retain Eva in a non-playing capacity, although he expects her to explore opportunities elsewhere. 

Eva already has significant coaching experience, having previously worked within the Giants' AFL coaching ranks and taken charge of the club's Female Academy in 2026.

"Hopefully she stays on as a coach within our program, but her legacy is simply massive, and we owe it to her this weekend," he said.

"You always try to find motivation, but in her farewell speech in the auditorium, she spoke about hanging in there because the wins are coming for this group. She's so optimistic for us, and we get an opportunity to actually do it for her, so there'll be a fair bit to play for."

Eva could move straight from playing into the AFLW senior coaching ranks, with Bernasconi declaring she is ready to lead a team of her own.

“Yeah, I would for sure,” he said when asked if Eva was ready to immediately step into a senior coaching role.

"Alicia is only just retiring this weekend, but she's been coaching for a long time.

“She's been involved in AFL programs and talent pathways years ago in Victoria; she's been a development coach in the AFL, she's run her own program in the Academy, and she's pretty much been an on-field assistant coach for me for five years.

“So she'd be ready. It's just whether Alicia and her family want to commit to that. It is a big job, but I'd fully endorse Alicia."