GREATER Western Sydney defender Lachie Whitfield is relieved the Giants have managed to turn things around after a challenging start to the season.
Following their 78-point annihilation of Brisbane in a historic, 26-goal masterclass fuelled by a record-breaking 14-goal third-quarter blitz, the Giants dominated Melbourne in the Red Centre with a comprehensive 49-point victory.
The back-to-back triumphs marked the first time all season the Giants had strung together consecutive wins, levelling their record at 6-6 heading into their round 13 bye.
"We were probably crying out for the bye at one stage there, and then we had two really good weeks and kept sort of getting some momentum rolling. But it's a good time to freshen up, sort of reset, and see where we’re at," Whitfield told reporters on Wednesday.
"In years gone by, we start to get going after the bye, so we've obviously got confidence in that. Everyone just took a couple of days to start feeling good and mentally prepared for the back end of the year.
"The ball was humming around (at training today), so I don't think anyone's taken their foot off the pedal. We're all looking good."
Reflecting on the turnaround, Whitfield admitted the team was disappointed with their earlier form but felt they quickly corrected course ahead of the bye.
With heavy defeats to the Bulldogs and Swans, a slump against lower-ranked teams, execution breakdowns, and a lengthy injury list, the Giants had been in danger of slipping completely out of the finals race.
"It was a relief, because our season was on a knife-edge there for a bit," Whitfield said.
"Individually, you sort of look at the year gone by, and you think we were disappointed with a lot of games in the front half of that season. We were not really where we wanted to be on the ladder, or playing the sort of game style we wanted to. We were turning the ball over a lot in the back half, and the centre bounce stuff - there's a whole echelon of stuff.
"But you can get that right quickly.
"So to be able to get back to an even ledger and roll into the break with that, knowing that we're fighting and we're getting a couple of players back … we'll just try and launch into the back half of the year."
However, the Giants' side continues a bit of a one-in, one-out situation. While they welcomed star defender Sam Taylor back to face the Demons, they lost fellow key defender Jack Buckley to a hamstring injury for up to six weeks against the Lions.
Similarly, they expect to welcome back Jesse Hogan from a hip complaint this weekend, but have simultaneously lost Jake Riccardi to an eight-week syndesmosis injury.
"Unfortunately, it's too normal, which makes us just go, 'Oh, okay, it's just another week with one out and one back'," Whitfield said.
"Sam's obviously been a superstar for us for a long time, and he and 'Bucks' (Buckley) just haven't had the continuity of getting together for a long time. Hopefully, Bucks is back in a couple of weeks, and they can pair up and get some footy together before the finals."
Whitfield was a late out against Brisbane in round 11 with hamstring awareness. Without three of the Giants' premier defenders, the veteran was most impressed by how seamlessly the club's youth adapted in the backline.
"I was proud of a couple of the young guys who stood up. Even players like 'Stoney' (Conor Stone) and (Toby) McMullin moving from the wing and going to play back, playing at a high level during that game. It was great to see multiple guys being able to play through that role," he said.
"I was so jealous watching from the box; it just looked like so much fun."
The performance gives him "huge faith" that the club's depth can step up at any time.
"Harry Oliver coming in, playing some good games. James Leake has played a lot of good footy as well," Whitfield said.
"So, we know we've got good reserves just biting at the heels … We've got good depth in our backline, albeit pretty injured. We're kind of using all our resources at this stage."