Ross Lyon and GWS, a coach and club who’ve come close without reaping the rewards. Could they be right for each other?

If Ross Lyon and GWS happened to lock eyes on one another, salvation would be staring back at them.

Sharing a history of near misses and the prospect of a closing window, they need each other to realise their premiership dreams.

Lyon’s failed flag tilts are now the stuff of legend. Matthew Scarlett’s toe-poke in the 2009 Grand Final, and Stephen Milne and “that bounce” a year later – which so cruelly denied St Kilda’s hopes of a premiership drought-breaker – come most readily to mind.

But the golden opportunity forsaken by Fremantle against Hawthorn in the 2013 decider would likely cost Lyon just as much sleep.

It’s easy to forget that there was a vulnerability about that Hawks team – as it struggled to fulfil its potential in the wake of its shock 2008 premiership – that the Dockers’ wastefulness on the day meant was never properly exposed.

The Giants, meanwhile, are yet to taste grand final action. And yet they bear their own September scars.

Their back-to-back preliminary finals exits in 2016 and 2017 – including the epic home final defeat to eventual premier Western Bulldogs – meant the club got close enough to be badly burnt.

And after GWS’ no-show in last weekend’s “snow game” against the Hawks, the Giants are facing their moment of truth.

It may seem premature to apply the blowtorch to an expansion club that sits sixth on the ladder and only entered the competition in 2012. But Friday night’s capitulation screamed of another ultimately fruitless season in what is fast becoming a misspent youth.
Born into entitlement courtesy of the draft and salary cap riches bestowed on the club by the AFL, GWS is at risk of having nothing to show for it.

Because, pretty soon, the Giants will go from feared interloper to just another football club … an expansion one at that.

For at some point, the club will likely run out of young talent to fill the void left by the growing list of superstars heading for the door, and then we’ll see how popular a western Sydney outpost is.

Against this backdrop, the Giants’ brains trust must decide whether coach Leon Cameron is the right man to take the club to the promised land before it’s too late.

It was Cameron himself who, on re-signing until the end of next year in 2017, said that he “absolutely” expected to win a premiership during that time. While there’s still time and the excuse of the club’s wretched injury run that has blighted his tenure to date, the clock is well and truly ticking for Cameron.

And if there is one coach in AFL circles who has a Midas touch in squeezing every ounce of potential out of a playing group, it’s Lyon.

You only have to hear his past players gush over him to appreciate the impact Lyon has had on each of his stops.

While obviously not as seasoned, this GWS list is younger and more talented than the St Kilda and Fremantle groups that Lyon took to within touching distance of a flag. The Giants loom as a perfect young muse for Lyon’s likely final quest for the cup.

And GWS would be getting the best version of Lyon. A perfect blend of experience and hunger.

Lyon reflected on Monday: “Personally, I feel like I’ve never coached better. Delegating, calmness and, personally, I never think I’ve been a better package.”

Of course, the risk with Lyon – which is heightened in the case of an expansion club – is that his “scorched earth” pursuit of premierships leaves his employer picking up the pieces when the contending music stops.

Certainly, his St Kilda and Fremantle stays have not been shining examples of rebuilding following flag tilts, and a big reason the Dockers may be prepared to part with Lyon at season’s end with a year to run on his contract.

But knowing that, surely GWS could limit Lyon’s off-field influence so as to protect the club’s long term future.

Premierships are hard to win. The Giants need only ask Lyon about that. But you have to get there first, and appointing Lyon will mean GWS will never sit back and wonder what more it could have done.

Then it’s down to luck. And Lyon is sure owed some of that.