Focusing on his strengths and the backing of the coaches helped Martin Gleeson produce his best performance of the season against GWS.

Gleeson had spent the previous three weeks in the VFL before getting the call-up to take on the Giants.

And the 22 year old made the most of his opportunity collecting 23 disposals and taking seven marks.

“I had to go back to my strengths and read the ball off the half back line and give a bit of run,” Gleeson said.

“It’s something I probably went away from in the first few rounds of the season.

“I’ve still got a fair few areas for improvement.

“The coaches are really backing me in and telling me to go for my marks and keep reading the ball and that gives me a lot of confidence out there.”

The Bombers went down by 16 points, but there were a host of positives to come from the game with Gleeson’s form among them.

The Dons had just one less scoring shot than the Giants, but the competition leader’s ability to convert gave them the edge.

“It was just probably execution, when they went forward they had some good set shots and kicked some goals where as we probably didn’t execute as well going forward,” Gleeson said.

“We had lapses for five or ten minutes in quarters which really cost us.

“They’re obviously a good side and they’re probably going to be around the mark come the end of the year.

“But that’s the kind of win we want to get.

“This year the competition is so even, anything can happen, and they’re the wins we want to get.

“We’ve just got to bounce back and train hard during the week.”

The Bombers next match is against Port Adelaide at Etihad Stadium on Saturday night.