GWS GIANTS might have suffered a second consecutive loss and slumped to a 2-6 record in the 2025 AFL Women’s season, but coach Cam Bernasconi was overall fairly pleased with his side’s performance. Though naturally some areas – such as a high inside 50 differential that the Giants failed to maximise – need tweaking, he was not overly concerned with the loss to St Kilda.

“We probably felt like we played pretty well for four quarters, defensively our pressure was better and we transitioned the ball from our back half to front half really well,” Bernasconi said. “I mean 40 inside 50s for two goals, it’s not great, so at least it’s really clear on what we need to work on this week. They are a really coachable group, we pick one or two things and we’ll get to work on it. That will certainly be our training review, going inside 50.”

The final score read 4.6 (30) to 2.4 (16) in a game where opposition coach Nick Dal Santo described as “scrappy” and “not the best spectacle” but aside from the third term where St Kilda kicked 3.1, the Giants were able to boot 2.4 (16) to 1.5 (11).

When asked about what the main issue turning forward 50 entries into goals was, Bernasconi said it was largely to do with decision making. In the end, they went at a woeful five per cent with only the two majors from four entries, while the Saints booted four from 27.

“I think we picked the wrong option sometimes and then it looks like a bad fundamental,” Bernasconi said. “There’s an element of decision making, element of pure fundamental, we just mis-kick, and also our structure ahead of the ball.

“I think when you have repeat entries and lots of density, it is hard to find a mark, but we probably just don’t structure up well enough around contest, like getting the ball to ground and then actually having good layers.

“There’s elements to a lot of it, but we’ll look at initial entries when we go in quickly how we can do it better, but also some entries when it’s a bit more of a repeat entry and a bit more density, we’ll work on that to be a bit better.”

Attempting to combat the best pressure team in the competition, Bernasconi said the Giants were able to find handball options out of the contest at times, but occasionally went one too many, or again made a fundamental error when transitioning the ball quickly forward.

“It’s similar, it’s a decision making and fundamental component to the handball game, and they are elite, number one in the comp for pressure,” he said.

“But I was happy to still chain but I still think we don’t help ourselves, whether we miss the handball as the player giving the ball, but also I reckon our patterns we make it a harder handball than it needs to be and we probably did transfer a bit of pressure, so that’s an element we’ll look at as well, because if we can look after the ball better, we can have a better inside 50 entry as well. I feel like we did overuse it at times.”

With four rounds remaining in the regular season, GWS sits in the bottom four, with Geelong and Fremantle to come in the next fortnight, before finishing off against Carlton and Port Adelaide.