AFL Central West: Bailey Brien enjoying a strong start to his Bathurst Giants captaincy

Brien was elevated to the captaincy role this season, having served as vice-captain under Shaun Noyen in 2020, and has relished his chance to take charge of a squad almost at the top of their game.

Giants dropped their first game of the season to rivals Bushrangers last round but they've maintained a high quality start to the campaign, which continues this Saturday away to the Orange Tigers.

Brien said the people around him have made the step up to the top job easier.

"It's going really well. I'm enjoying it. When you've got a great bunch of guys to lead out each weekend that makes your job a lot easier," he said.

"I've been involved with the club from the beginning of the club, so going back to the under 15s in 2014 where I played alongside a lot of these boys. Together we came up through the ranks.

"We all know how each other plays and each other's style. That makes things easier and more enjoyable each weekend."

Giants will look to bounce back after a close defeat.

"We've been pretty good but last weekend was a bit disappointing. I think it just comes back to how well we're executing our skills but it's hard to complain so far," Brien said.

"Orange have some very good players in their squad so it should be a good contest but I think we should be able to come out on top again.

"I think, if there's anything to improve, we need to make those short kicks better. Those 10 to 15m kicks were what let us down."

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