Greater Western Sydney Giants forward Johnathon Patton buried his Manuka Oval demons under six goals to kickstart a huge week for both of Sydney's AFL clubs.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
On the same venue he suffered the first torn ACL of his career, Patton left Canberra a hero after leading his side into the top four on Saturday.
A win in the upcoming Sydney derby would push the Giants five wins clear of the Swans, considered to be one of GWS' main rivals for the premiership, and leave their rivals in dire straits.
Patton's equal career-high tally steered the Giants to a 31-point victory against Port Adelaide and proved the perfect tonic leading into a huge fortnight for the competition favourites.
After the 12th instalment of the Sydney derby, the Giants host reigning premiers the Western Bulldogs at Manuka Oval the following Friday night.
Patton says playing both of last year's grand finalists in consecutive weeks will be a huge test for the Giants, and he is itching to return to the capital against the Bulldogs.
"Obviously it was good to kick a couple down at Manuka where in the past it hasn't held the greatest of memories with the injury," Patton said.
"Whenever I run out there now I don't think about it at all. That was four years ago now.
"Everyone's really looking forward to that [Friday night game against the Bulldogs]. Hopefully it will be a packed out house down at Manuka and hopefully I can get a few more goals down there, that'd be nice."
But first on the agenda is the 12th Sydney derby and the Giants are eyeing a fourth win over their cross-town rivals.
The Swans are languishing at the bottom of the AFL ladder with zero wins from their opening four games and concerns the club could miss the finals for the first time since 2009 continue to mount.
But Patton says Sydney derbies are "always a danger game" and he wouldn't be surprised if the Swans became the first time to make the finals from 0-4 since North Melbourne in 1975.
"They might not have had the greatest start to the year but they've still got plenty of superstars out there so it's only a matter of time before it turns around for them," Patton said.
"We've got to be on our toes and we can't take them lightly. You've got to pay them the respect they deserve, but in saying that we're pretty confident going in."
Patton says the win over Port shows how much the Giants have matured as a group in recent years, because in years gone by that was a game they "would have lost".
Now the Giants are champing at the bit ahead of a huge fortnight in the context of not only their season, but Sydney's as well.
"A couple of years ago we would have lost that game, so to run out the game the way we did shows how far we've come as a group," Patton said.
"A tough couple of weeks coming up with the two grand finalists of last year but we're really ready for it."
