THE BELIEF was there before the winning started.
As Greater Western Sydney players debriefed with their coaching group following a heartbreaking six-point loss to Richmond in June, the message remained clear and defiant. "Why not us?" Adam Kingsley asked his troops.
It was a defeat that consigned the Giants to a 4-8 record and a spot in the AFL's bottom four at the time. That is not the type of occasion normally reserved for a coach speaking about finals or premierships.
But Kingsley could sense what was around the corner. He raised the 2004 Boston Red Sox and their "why not us?" motto as motivation for what this Greater Western Sydney campaign could become.
Famously 0-3 down to the New York Yankees in the ACLS title game, that Red Sox side became the first team to win four straight games and overturn such a deficit on their way to claiming the World Series crown. The Giants, similarly, have not lost since.
Six straight wins – equalling the longest such streak in the club's history – have the Giants in seventh place and on the cusp of finals heading into the home straight. Belief, and momentum, is suddenly on their side.
Kingsley could sense a turnaround on the radar. Despite falling to 4-8 at the time, the Giants had only lost one game by more than 21 points. The form was there, even if the results sometimes weren't showing that.
His belief was cultivated by the side's stingy, competitive and sometimes even makeshift defence. Indeed, it’s a backline of unheralded stars – such as the ever-overlooked Sam Taylor and former Category B rookie Jack Buckley – that is driving their winning streak.
The Giants haven't conceded more than 75 points in any of their past six games. Their average score leaked in that stretch, which stands at just 58 points per game, is the best of any team in that period.
The fact that the Giants are still conceding an average of 54.3 inside 50s per match throughout that six-week spell – the fifth-most of any team in the competition – is further evidence of how well their backline is collectively playing.
Champion Data also notes that the Giants rank No.1 in the League for scores against per inside 50 (33.1 per cent) during that period, and No.1 for goals conceded per inside 50 (14.7 per cent) as well.
The Giants also rank No.1 for retention of opposition kicks inside 50 (37.3 per cent), marks per opposition kicks inside 50 (11.8 per cent) and defensive one-on-one loss-rate in the defensive 50 (8.9 per cent), highlighting their ability to repel attacks.
Taylor, who returned from a hamstring injury in round 14 and has subsequently been part of the side's past five victories, has been central to the team's turnaround in form and the backline's incredible success.
His 11.4 intercept possessions across the past five matches are significantly clear of any other player as the best in the AFL, while he also ranks top 10 in the League for intercept marks across that period (3.8 per game).
Taylor also ranks No.2 in the competition for defensive one-on-one win-rate, winning 60 per cent of his duels, while his loss-rate of just eight per cent is the fifth-best in the League during that stretch.
What's made this Giants winning streak so much more remarkable, and all the more improbable, has been the travel involved. Over the last month they have gone to Hobart, Alice Springs, Adelaide and Canberra. This week, they venture to Ballarat.
But rather than be daunted by such a challenge, Kingsley and his coaching group have embraced the hurdles. They have now won their past four interstate fixtures, and their past five away from Giants Stadium.
To make finals, the Giants will have to overcome a tricky fixture that concludes their campaign. Games against the Western Bulldogs (currently fifth on the ladder), Sydney (12th), Port Adelaide (second), Essendon (11th) and Carlton (ninth) essentially act as five elimination finals before September even begins.
But if anything's certain, it's that the Giants won't shy away from the task at hand.
