GWS coach Leon Cameron is content to cop the brunt of scrutiny after his AFL side’s shocking defeat to Fremantle, insisting it will prove a blip.
The Giants, who host undefeated Melbourne at Manuka Oval on Sunday night, are 0-2 for the first time since 2013.
The expansion club’s season-opening loss to St Kilda had some positive signs, but a 31-point loss to Fremantle prompted scathing criticism and fresh questions about Cameron’s job security.
“If you read into it too much, clearly it’s going to affect you,” Cameron told reporters.
“A lot of that noise I don’t really look into.
“You’ve got to be really confident in what you do, I’m really confident we’re heading on the right track.
“You’re always going to be under pressure. It doesn’t matter who you are.
“If they’re concentrating on me then they’re not worrying about our players. If that’s a good thing, we’ll take that every day of the week.”
Cameron, who first joined the club in 2013 and is contracted until the end of 2022, added he is determined to improve and develop.
“Some things you get right, some things you get wrong. But I think over the past five or six years, our record has been pretty good,” he said.
Young forward Jake Riccardi is likely to return after recovering from an ankle injury, but Cameron hinted he was unlikely to swing the axe.
“You’ve got to be really careful,” he said.
“We want to be hard to play against. We weren’t on the weekend.
“I see it as a bit of a blip.
“We’ve trained really well and we expect a strong response on Sunday against a really good, in-form team.”
Injured prized recruit Jesse Hogan is expected to return the following weekend, although it may be in the reserves.
Star winger Lachie Whitfield (bruised liver) is now taking part in some drills.
“Is it two weeks? Three weeks? Lachie would like to say it’s this week, but he’s getting ahead of himself a little bit,” Cameron said.
“He’s heading in the right direction. There’s been no setbacks.”
Meanwhile, Cameron reiterated he was confident that Josh Kelly would remain at the club beyond this season.
Cameron also defended the output of Kelly since his All-Australian selection and best-and-fairest award in 2017, noting the star midfielder battled through a groin injury in 2018 and 2019.
“Clearly our club collectively needed to be better in 2020. Not just Josh,” he said.
“He was a bit crook (last Sunday) … (but) there were some really good glimpses under duress.”