The
The GIANTS won just one game last season, and after losing their first two matches of
But being forced to play elimination final-style footy has brought out the very best in the team, and with three wins and a draw in their past four games, they head into Friday night's last round as
The GIANTS must beat the Lions to be any chance of making next week's decider, and Irish key forward Cora Staunton believes her side will relish the high stakes of the clash.
"The games we've needed to win [when we've] been under massive pressure, we've managed to step up and perform," she said.
"The draw with Adelaide was disappointing, but it kept us in it. Going to Perth and playing Fremantle and getting the win was huge, and against the
"The team is growing and growing, Alan has given us massive confidence in each game and I think that's spread throughout the team.
"We talk a lot about the collective – if we all play well and win our individual battles, then collectively we'll win."
Staunton has played a significant role in the GIANTS' turnaround, and her gradual improvement has been one of the season's great stories.
The Gaelic football legend, a multiple All-Ireland representative, only took up footy late last year but played the best game of her short career in last week's 18-point win over the top-of-the-ladder Bulldogs.
Staunton's attack on the footy is relentless, she very rarely loses her feet, and her skills are growing, making her a dangerous weapon inside 50.
A superstar in Ireland, Staunton has quickly adjusted to life as an AFLW player and hasn't stopped learning the game since she arrived in Australia in December.
"Every day of training is a school day for me and every match is a hard exam," she said.
"Each game I try to learn two or three things and bring them into the next week, and I'll sit down with Alan and ask him what I need to do to improve.
"It's a different role to the one I play back home where I'm the main scorer, but it doesn't matter if it's laying a tackle or putting pressure on or setting up a score, it's about whatever is best for the team.
"Whatever Alan or the girls ask me to do, that's what I'll do."
While most of the world's Irish population are planning a weekend of celebrations for Saint Patrick's Day on Saturday, Staunton has other ideas.
"It's a big day back home, but it's a massive weekend for the GIANTS and we're one step away from probably the biggest thing the club has achieved," she said.
"Hopefully come Saturday I'll be planning to play in a Grand Final."
