Vindication wasn’t on Mark McVeigh's mind after his side responded to his brutal assessment of last week's Derby thrashing with a 27-point win over Essendon.
With the GIANTS’ finals aspirations over for 2022, McVeigh was brutally honest when he claimed numerous players had "checked out" following last week's 73-point loss against the Swans.
That forthright public assessment along with the GIANTS' match committee's decision not to make mass selection changes raised eyebrows this week, with some claiming it would impact McVeigh's chances of earning the head coaching role permanently.
Despite that, McVeigh shied away from claiming vindication in the aftermath of the win that ended the 16th-placed GIANTS' four-game losing run, and insisted the response was player-driven.
"I'm not surprised by the response from the players during the week," McVeigh said.
"It's always been open and honest. We wanted to really make sure we nailed this week. I was really confident all week.
"Sometimes you've got to back great character. We have, in my mind, great characters amongst our group.
"Some of those people who were challenged, I knew they would respond. It didn’t guarantee a win but I thought the effort was clearly there. It was a really good reward for the players."
He said co-captains Stephen Coniglio, Toby Greene and Josh Kelly had stepped up during the week.
"I think they took charge of the whole week to be honest. As coach you set the tone but with great relationships with players and our leadership group, they took it upon themselves to drive the message and the standards internally all week," McVeigh.
McVeigh, who this week made his pitch to the club for the vacant job, said the win didn’t better his chances of earning the role permanently.
"I don’t think it changes anything," he said. "It's probably not about wins and losses. They're trying to find the right person. I support that."
The caretaker also wasn’t concerned that the club had met with four-time premiership coach Alastair Clarkson to discuss the role several times recently.
"That's the process, which is great," he said. "It's absolutely what I knew was going to happen. Our club is doing everything they can to uncover the best coach which is the right thing."
McVeigh also revealed Tim Taranto, who was withdrawn on Friday from the team to face Essendon, would miss next week having entered concussion protocols after a delayed onset was unusually diagnosed on Saturday originating from last week's Derby loss.
