GWS coach Adam Kingsley has praised the mental toughness of Aaron Cadman after the former No.1 draft pick played through soreness to kick three goals against West Coast.
Cadman finished with 3.0 from nine disposals in Sunday's 65-point AFL win - 16.12 (108) to 5.13 (43) - over West Coast in Perth.
The 20-year-old's biggest highlight came just before the fulltime siren when he took a towering mark and then kicked truly.
Cadman kicked just six goals from 12 matches in his debut season last year, but he already has seven goals from three games in 2024.
"He's progressing really well. I've been really happy with him," Kingsley said.
"He wasn't quite 100 per cent today coming into the game. We had a little bit of concern around just a bit of soreness in his glutes.
"But for him to be able to perform at the level with that little bit of doubt, it's a reflection of his mindset and his mental toughness, and he still contributed really strongly for us.
"There's not many key forwards who come in and are able to perform at that sort of level in their second year, particularly early in their second year.
"We're really confident in him. He's a hard worker, has great attention to detail, and he's going to be a really good player for a long time for us."
The dominant win over West Coast improved the Giants' record to a perfect 3-0 this season, catapulting them to the top of the table.
It's in stark contrast to last year when they were 3-7 before finally clicking into gear and making it all the way to the preliminary final.
GWS are rated premiership favourites, and Kingsley said that tag brought challenges in itself.
"Clearly complacency, feeling pretty happy about how we're playing or what we're doing, will be something that we'll need to avoid," Kingsley said.
"The moment that we move away from the way we want to play, we won't get the results that we want.
"So we're fully aware of that. We continue to challenge each other around making sure we prepare as well as we possibly can each week.
"We will go out there and play as best as we possibly can and see where it takes us."
The Giants have the bye this week before taking on Gold Coast in Gather Round on April 7.
