STAR defender Heath Shaw commands all the attention but teammate Nathan Wilson is challenging the veteran as Greater Western Sydney's best attacking defender. 

Shaw has been the competition's leader in kicks and rebound 50s for the past two seasons and is commonly targeted by opposition teams, but with the form Wilson has shown over the past fortnight, the West Australian might soon find himself with a minder of his own. 

Close to best kick in the League, the 24-year-old uses his foot skills to great effect, as shown by his 543.9 metres gained per match, which ranks him fourth in the competition behind Essendon's Zach Merrett (584.6), Brisbane Lions speedster Dayne Zorko (568.5), and Tiger Dustin Martin (563.6).

What makes that statistic so remarkable is that star midfielders Merrett (32.9 possessions per game), Zorko (25.9), and Martin (29), get their hands on a lot more footy than Wilson (17.9), who often finds himself playing deep in defence. 

Wilson told AFL.com.au that coach Leon Cameron challenged him to increase his output this year, and the numbers are slightly up, with his career high disposals (23) coming in round eight against Collingwood.

"I think the last two games against Collingwood and Richmond have been the best of my career," he said.

"I play a lot on instinct so if I see one of the boys out I'll hit them up, but if I think I can take someone on and beat them by running the footy, I'm happy to do that, too. 

"I think my defensive one-on-one work has also improved a lot, and I've been really happy with that, because that’s something I've been working hard on with our backs coach Mark McVeigh."

With a disposal efficiency of 81.1 per cent, Wilson is the man the Giants want to give the ball to coming out of defence, and he showed against the Pies just how deadly he is forward of centre, with his 60m bomb deep inside 50 the one snatched by Steve Johnson for the game winner 

Then he was at it again when GWS broke the hearts of Richmond a week later, when an unmarked Wilson played on from a kick-out and launched one to the centre circle, and the ball eventually found its way to Jeremy Cameron who snagged the goal to steal another win. 

"I couldn't believe nobody was on the mark actually," he laughed. 

"I saw (Jack) Riewoldt was worried about guarding 'Shawry' (Shaw) in the pocket on the right, so just thought I'd play on and go for it.

"I think it worked out pretty well."

It's fair to say Wilson is enjoying his footy more than ever, a far cry from his mood at the end of last season when he underwent double hip surgery after struggling with chronic groin pain late in the year. 

It meant the speedster was left behind when the rest of the GWS squad began pre-season training, and it cost him a spot in the season opener, when Cameron overlooked him for the clash with Adelaide.

"I was a bit shocked to be left out, but Leon had been honest with me in the lead-up, and I knew I'd missed a lot of work," he said.

"But he came to me the next week and said he needed my run, so I got back in and have slowly built from there.

"After struggling to put my undies on after games last year, and hardly being able to train in-between games, I'm feeling as good as I ever have."