GREATER Western Sydney's backline has viewed it as a "badge of honour" that it has been able to stand up under a weekly barrage of inside 50s this season, which has only been exceeded by bottom-placed West Coast. 

The Giants have been experimenting with their defence this season and looking for an edge after some key departures last year, but they have been doing so while conceding 57.8 opposition entries each week. 

Adam Kingsley's team has lost the inside 50s in all but two of their games but stood firm to concede the fifth fewest points this season, getting to Saturday's clash against Fremantle with a 5-4 record and a platform to launch from.  

Assistant coach Brett Montgomery, who is in his third season as defensive coach, said the Giants understood they were unsustainable numbers, with the team nestled between West Coast (59.8) and Richmond (56.8) for opposition entries conceded. 

The ability to win key games while under that defensive pressure, however, highlights the potential improvement the Giants still have available to them in the second half of the season. 

"The guys see it as a bit of a feather in their cap that they can that can take the weight of that inside 50 number and manage it," Montgomery told AFL.com.au. 

"I don't think anyone's got their feet on the desk expecting that having 60-plus inside 50s against is sustainable, and the entire playing group is working on trying to get that number down. 

"But that is the maturity and the character of the backline group that they really do see it as a badge of honour that they can still stand up under that sort of barrage. 

"It's an ongoing challenge that we're taking on, but we're all aware it's unsustainable if it continues."

Last Sunday's thrilling four-point win against Geelong saw the Giants concede their equal highest inside 50 differential (-15) for the season as the Cats went into attack 61 times at GMHBA Stadium. 

Montgomery said there was an element of the Giants' style that could lend itself to the game being 'live' for longer and opposition teams getting more chances to go into attack. 

A key reason for the Giants holding up has been star defender Sam Taylor, who is leading the AFL for intercept marks (4.4 a game) and adding a sharper offensive edge to his game with his career-best 15.4 disposals.  

It's led to opposition teams sending defensively minded forwards to him, with the Giants again prepared for that to happen against a tall Fremantle forward line on Saturday.  

"He's had three or four match-ups with a fair bit of attention after only nine games, which is probably a little bit rare this early in the season, so he's had to contend with some different things," Montgomery said of Taylor. 

"Those decisions have been made pretty early in games that he's a threat … but he's still been able to spit out great numbers and I'd say he's left a few (intercept marks) on the table too. 

"If there's been any change to his game, it's his offensive impact and his commitment to making sure we as a team can move the ball better.

"Whether that's put him in positions to take more intercepts, I'm not entirely sure, but he's committed to making sure he's involved in team offence and I think he's done a great job."

Saturday's clash will pit Taylor as the No.1 intercept player against Fremantle star Josh Treacy as the AFL's most productive leading forward so far this season. 

After two years as a very settled backline, there is now some unpredictability about how the Giants will line-up, with key defender Jack Buckley an example of a player used in new roles after manning Patrick Dangerfield last week. Harry Himmelberg has also spent time on the wing.

The departures of Nick Haynes and Harry Perryman at the end of last season, as well as wingman Isaac Cumming, who had been an important insurance option in defence, has given the Giants reason to explore. 

"The biggest shift for us this year is we've asked different things of different people," Montgomery said. 

"We're endeavouring to find our best form and our best combinations, but we're still willing to take a look at a few things. 

"Conor Stone has played seven games and we've had a look at Jacob Wehr and Joe Fonti. 

"We're really mindful that we're not getting the same player (as Perryman) but we're also excited that we might be getting something a little bit different too that might just add another dimension."