THERE was a fuse lit in Lachie Ash the moment last season ended and it has provided the major catalyst for the Greater Western Sydney speedster's stunning start to 2025.

Now into his sixth season, and game 107 come Saturday's clash with Adelaide, the 2019 No.4 draft pick is setting career best numbers early in the year, averaging 27.4 disposals at a lethal efficiency of 87.6 per cent.

It has the 23-year-old rated among the best defenders in the AFL through the opening six rounds and on early watchlists for maiden All-Australian honours.

For the GWS half-back dasher, it's been a season sparked by the anger of a 2024 campaign he feels was below his capabilities and the heartbreaking finals series capitulation.

"I'm reasonably happy. I had a below average or a poor year last year by my own standards," Ash told AFL.com.au.

"We had six months of the summer time to let that sit in the stomach and then get the chance to let go of the anger a little bit, let a bit of the frustration out. I wanted to have a consistent pre-season, and I feel like I've started well and hit the ground running."

A bout of osteitis pubis impacted Ash's pre-season heading into last year and it was his inconsistent disposal throughout the campaign that irked him the most.

"I wasn't able to train much, so it just ripped me down. I feel like I wasn't seeing those options as clearly as I previously had. And my run and carry, which when it comes to my whole career I've done pretty well, dropped away a little bit.

"It all became front of mind, especially in a game when I stuffed up. I have to learn to let go of it. I was trying too hard I guess, rather than just playing the game as it comes. I can be better at dealing with that this year as well. Just live and let live."

An injury-free pre-season that saw Ash complete "over 90 per cent of what the team did" has helped him regain his consistency by foot and explosive step off half-back that is such a key part of the Giants' 'Orange Tsunami'.

But there is a mental aspect to his outstanding start to the year as well, that has been largely driven by the straight-sets finals exit of 2024 and more notably the unfathomable defeat to Brisbane at home in the semi-final from 44 points up late in the third quarter. 

"The weeks after that game, the sorts of things you keep saying to yourself are that we were good enough, but we cost ourselves. It wasn't through them beating us, it was like we sort of beat ourselves in a way," Ash said.

"In 2023, the Collingwood prelim that we lost by a point as hard as it was and it was a miserable time, we gave it our best, I guess we weren't good enough on the day. I can live with that. Whereas the Brisbane game, we had a good, comfortable lead and yeah we weren't good enough, but we just cost ourselves. 

"I probably didn't play the way I wanted to in both finals. You always pride yourself on how you play in big games, and I probably didn't play to the level I expected. 

"That added anger and frustration but you try and take the silver lining out of it. 'Kingers' (coach Adam Kingsley) has just told us we have to learn our lesson. Our leadership group has been outstanding in the pre-season, in terms of taking control through those times when the momentum is against us. I think we've handled it extremely well apart from probably the Hawthorn game in round three where they kicked four or five in a short amount of time. 

"Sometimes it doesn't go your way and you get hurt, but you've got to keep trying to be vulnerable and not shy away from it. Keep putting ourselves in those situations, which I think the leadership group and 'Kingers' have been great at reinforcing."

One of those leaders is the other half of the Lachie dynamic off half-back at the Giants in Whitfield. 

Enjoying a similarly excellent start to the season as his younger sidekick, they've developed into arguably the best attacking duo out of defence in the AFL. 

"I don't shy away from it, he was my favourite player before I got drafted. So to be able to learn off him, especially the last three years where we've played alongside each other, it's been great for me," Ash said.

"I feel like last year he got tagged a lot and I wasn't able to take advantage of that, which I just felt a bit guilty for at times. If there's two of us there going well, it's not as easy to tag one of us and the sort of relationship we've got now, it feels like we always know where the other is out on the ground.

"But we wouldn't be allowed to play like we do without those guys who are behind us. It's a pleasure to play alongside those guys. You have full trust that they'll get their jobs done and you've just got to worry about getting yours done as well."

The Giants' defensive unit as a whole will have their work cut out for them against the high-scoring Crows at the Adelaide Oval in one of the premier clashes of round six.

For Ash in particular, he'll have to assist in trying to quell Izak Rankine, who he dubbed as one of the top tier "superstars of the competition".

And there'll be an extra layer of fascination in the contest as the Giants come up against one of their former teammates in Isaac Cumming, although another in James Peatling will miss through suspension.

"Isaac was there at the club for eight years, I think. He had some really close relationships with a lot of the boys. He's a lovely guy and a very good person. It will be a bit weird I guess seeing him out there, but at the end of the day they're wearing an opposition jumper so you've just got to treat them like that and then after the game it's always good to catch up," said Ash.

"We have a joke with 'JP' (Peatling) that he got suspended on purpose so he doesn't have to play against us. 

"You never want to lose good people and good players but that's the industry. Hopefully we can get one up on them and make them regret their decision for leaving a little bit, that would be nice."