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GWS captain Stephen Coniglio has rejected criticism from former teammate Brett Deledio, but admits he must share the leadership load at the AFL club.

Captain Stephen Coniglio has learned he must share the leadership load at GWS, as the struggling AFL team seek to reignite their campaign with victory in Friday night's grand-final rematch.

The Giants were expected to be premiership contenders again this year after reaching the 2019 grand final but suffering an 89-point loss to Richmond.

Coniglio's first season as skipper started with an impressive win over Geelong.

But, with 10 rounds remaining in the shortened season, 13th-placed GWS are at risk of missing the finals, having gone 2-4 since the end of the COVID-19 shutdown.

Criticism - of the club, coach Leon Cameron, Coniglio and many of his teammates - is coming thick and fast ahead of a crunch clash with the Tigers at Giants Stadium.

Coniglio rejected the suggestion, made by friend and former teammate Brett Deledio, that GWS were playing like "a bunch of 22 individuals" rather than working together.

The star midfielder, who found form and a game-high 27 disposals in Saturday's loss to Brisbane, did admit he learned some key leadership lessons during a challenging stretch.

"I always knew I was going to have challenges at some stages," Coniglio said on Monday.

"Are there a few things I can learn from? - 100 per cent.

"A lot of the time, I'll take on things and not be afraid to ask for help but, at times, I shy away from that and want to try and do a lot on my own.

"Just sharing the load a little bit more (is important); giving guys a little bit more to do."

Deledio's critique would have been fair in the early years of the expansion club, according to Coniglio.

"But we've made some huge ground on that," he said.

"I don't see that at all ... that collective approach and playing for one and other, it's something we pride ourselves on."

The 26-year-old noted the club's leadership group had been great support in recent weeks, likewise young guns Harry Himmelberg and Tim Taranto plus veterans Shane Mumford and Heath Shaw.

"We're blessed that some of our players, particularly the senior ones or just key guys around the group, will pick up morale," he said.

"It's frustrating at the minute that our ball use hasn't been anywhere near where we want it to be.

"We're not living up to our own expectations. But we'll get back there and get back to winning ways."

Coniglio, who missed last's year's grand-final shellacking because of a knee injury, suggested each Giant would attack the round-eight match differently.

"The fact it's not round one or round two takes the grand-final rematch (factor) away," he claimed.