The GWS giants have come under fire from interim manager Mark McVeigh, who said the club were “embarrassed” in their 73-point drubbing in the Sydney Derby and questioned whether some of their players had “checked themselves “.
The Sydney Swans’ win came courtesy of their highest margin in a derby since 2015 and incurred further humiliation at a Giants side that has won just five games this season and now sits 16th.
It’s a horrible situation for a roster that’s still loaded with so much talent, which prompted McVeigh to confront after the game.
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“We’ve embarrassed our club,” he said.
“It’s extremely disappointing. It’s very different to the Giants. These are the games you have to stand up for and our club has done us proud for a long time.
“They’re far superior to us at the moment, of course, but there’s just an unfortunate part of dealing with whether the players have been checked or not.
Giants players down after loss. Image: Phil HillyardSource: News Corp Australia
“I’m very disappointed with our midfield in general today. It’s just rhythm of work and effort. Want to defend, want to attack. The motivation should be how proud you are of yourself as a player and how proud you are of playing for the Giants.”
McVeigh said only eight players – Sam Taylor, Harry Perryman, Josh Kelly, Callan Ward, Adam Kennedy, Lachie Whitfield, Jesse Hogan and Toby Greene – “went to the wall” and fought until the end of the game.
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The former Essendon great said he spent a lot of time in the rooms with the players after the game and sat quietly to see what responses he got from the playing group.
He added that a change of leadership is needed in the club’s playing group.
“Without getting into it too much, we got some good honest feedback from our teammates and players, which is good,” he said. “Some of the players said that you often don’t hear what we need from this club going forward.”
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McVeigh singled out two players as future leaders for the club in Harry Perryman, who did an excellent job tagging Swans jet Chad Warner, and Sam Taylor, who was once again supreme at full-back as he bid for a guernsey all Australian and first. award better and fairer.
“He’s really dominating games. I’d hate to think if he hadn’t played how many goals they would have scored. He’s a star, an absolute star,” McVeigh said.
— NCA Newswire