GREATER Western Sydney young gun Zarlie Goldsworthy is looking beyond the scoreboard – trading short-term results for a focus on continual improvement – and remains confident the wins will eventually follow.
That growth is vital, given the Giants have won just five games in the past three season to sit rooted to the bottom of the ladder – a far cry from where they aim to be.
Despite the record, the club is clearly happy with its direction. After initially giving head coach Cam Bernasconi a one-year contract extension following the 2025 season, the Giants locked him in for an additional two years in April to extend his tenure until at least the end of the 2028 season.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Goldsworthy said Bernasconi commands the complete trust and belief of the players during this development phase.
“Because we’re such a young group and we’re developing, win-loss records aren’t really the metric of how we are going to test if we’re going forward or not,” she said.
“We can tell within ourselves if we are taking steps in the right direction. That’s why we still love Cam so much; we have full belief and full faith that he’s going to get us there when we need to get there.”
Cam Bernasconi speaks to Giants players during the match between Carlton and Greater Western Sydney at Ikon Park in round 11, 2025. Picture: AFL Photos
Pushing to return to the finals this season, Goldsworthy hopes the team’s intense off-season efforts will present a “different look” on match days.
“The way the group has responded in our off-season has been great,” she said.
“We’ve hit PBs in areas where we wanted to get better, in fitness and in power. I’m hoping that once we start playing games against opposition, whether that’s in a couple of weeks in pre-season games or in round one, it’ll be a different look.”
The foundation for Goldsworthy’s own season was laid last year when, despite training the entire pre-season as a forward, Goldsworthy transitioned to a full-time midfield role early in the season after Alyce Parker was injured.
Zarlie Goldsworthy during the AFLW R11 match between GWS and Carlton at Ikon Park on October 26, 2025. Picture: AFL Photos
The move ultimately secured her a second Gabrielle Trainor Medal as the club’s best-and-fairest.
After being forced to learn the new role under pressure, she finally feels prepared as she splits her time predominantly between the midfield and attack this pre-season.
“It felt like I didn’t really have much time to stop and think about it. It was just go, go, go between games. Especially with ‘Parks’ (parker) going down, it did feel like I was getting, not thrown in the deep end, but I was doing that role a little underprepared and was learning on the go a bit,” she said.
“But getting this proper pre-season where I’m able to learn the craft a bit more in the midfield has been really fun, and I’ve loved it.
