The GIANTS are reaping the rewards of the faith it has shown in Aaron Cadman as the emerging forward becomes critical to the side's finals hopes, GIANTS coach Adam Kingsley said after a win over Geelong at ENGIE Stadium.
The 21-year-old put the GIANTS in command with four goals when the match was up for grabs in the third term, then booted two more majors after the last break to help steer his side to a 26-point victory over the Cats on Saturday.
The former No.1 pick finished with a career-high six majors as he showed increasing confidence while flying to take eight marks and made the most of his opportunities near goal in a breakout display.
"If you wind back the tape, I feel like I've been saying, 'We're really happy with him, he's just got to finish a little bit better, whether that's marking or whether that's kicking goals'," Kingsley said. "But he keeps putting himself in a position to be able to win the ball, present, compete, support and help the guys at his feet.
"This has been building for a long while. Now he's probably getting the rewards for all that effort in terms of goals. But there's a lot more to his game than just goals at the moment. He's a really important player to our club and the way that we play."
Kingsley was full of praise for another former No.1 pick as Lachie Whitfield celebrated his 250th match in style with a game-high 32 disposals.
Whitfield was made to wait to reach the milestone after sustaining a concussion against Gold Coast in round 15.
A fourth straight victory over the Cats keeps the GIANTS within touching distance of the top four while Kingsley expects former captain Stephen Coniglio and gun defender Sam Taylor to press their claims to face Essendon on Thursday night.
"It was a typical performance from one of our stars," Kingsley said of Whitfield. "It was really nice for him to get back to that level of play in what was such a really important game, not only for him but for us.
"We want to celebrate the game in the right way for him, but we also knew it was an incredibly important game against the Cats to continue to try and climb up that ladder. He led the way for us, it was a fantastic game."
