ONE thing that was not the friend of the GWS Giants last year was injuries, with many key stars missing large chunks of Season 7.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But thankfully for GWS fans, Giants\u2019 assistant coach Lloyd Perris confirmed that the likes of Rebecca Beeson<\/a>, Pepa Randall<\/a>, Chloe Dalton<\/a> <\/strong>and <\/strong>Fleur Davies<\/a> <\/strong>are all ready to go for the start of this season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe obviously had a fair share of injuries last year, but Bec, Pepa, Chloe and Fleur are all right to go,\u201d Perris said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThey\u2019ve done the majority of preseason, played in that last practise match and played really well, so having that sort of experience coming back as well as Fleur who obviously plays a pivotal role in the ruck for us. <\/p>\n\n\n\n “But they\u2019re all good to go and so we\u2019ll absolutely benefit from having their experience and talent back in the team, and Izzy Huntington<\/a> is another one that will return early in the season. Again we\u2019ve obviously been excited from day one getting her up here, but adding her into our forward line mix will give us another avenue to goal so we\u2019re really excited about having her in.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Unlike last season the Giants\u2019 injury list is nice and short at the moment, with Annise Bradfield the only major injury concern at the moment and Perris says she tracking well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Reflecting on last season, Perris said that last season was a frustrating one for those in orange thanks to injuries and inconsistencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt was frustrating,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe consistency is something we\u2019re working on, we\u2019ve talked about it and we\u2019re not shying away from the fact that it is an issue we need to deal with, but absolutely it was frustrating because one week we\u2019d perform really strongly and then the next week we\u2019d just didn\u2019t turn up with the same energy and so it was pretty frustrating. <\/p>\n\n\n\n “Obviously it comes off the back a little bit of our injury list as well and not being able to have our best players out on the park, that can impact the consistency out on the park. It was a frustrating season but it was also a really positive one in that we implemented a new game style and we showed it can work if we executed it so there were plenty of positives to take out of the season as well.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Looking ahead to this season, Perris said that this preseason was a very positive one for his charges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPreseason\u2019s obviously second season with Cam Bernasconi in charge so I guess we implemented a new game style last year,” he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n “This preseason is all about adding layers and a bit more detail and accountability to that gameplan. So we had a few injury niggles throughout the preseason which meant at times we didn\u2019t have everyone on the track, but we\u2019re still really confident and proud of the way we attacked the preseason and the work we were able to put into implementing that game plan.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n There have been plenty of faces that have impressed on the track so far this preseason, with Zarlie Goldsworthy<\/a>, Tarni Evans<\/a>, Ally Dallaway<\/a> and Nicola Barr<\/a> all drawing praise from Perris.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Heading into 2023 there is one massive challenge the Giants have to take on, trying to fill the hole that the retirement of Cora Staunton<\/a> leaves in their forward line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, Perris confirmed that there is certainly something in the works to counter that problem<\/p>\n\n\n\n Obviously she was a fantastic player,” Perris said. “I think all teams that score a lot of goals it\u2019s built on system and it\u2019s built on forwards that can work together, and we\u2019re really excited about the way that our forwards have been doing that through the preseason. <\/p>\n\n\n\n “Obviously Izzy Huntington and Georgia Garnett<\/a> forming a combination early in the season really excites us. We know Izzy can score goals and Georgia Garnett has been working hard to kick more goals, and obviously with Zarlie Goldsworthy and Alyce Parker<\/a> both spending time through that forward line is really exciting and gives us a really great target up forward. <\/p>\n\n\n\n