GALLERY: Bushrangers stay unbeaten but are tested in derby with Giants

A bolstered Giants side kept pace with the Bushrangers across the opening half of the match before the unbeaten competition leaders flew clear in a 16.13 (109) to 6.6 (42) result.

It was the closest result out of the three derbies this season to date, and Bushrangers were only up by 10 points at the main break.

Bushrangers outscored the Giants 12 goals to three across a dominant second half to extend their winning run to eight matches.

Bushrangers player-coach Alex Sparks said it took some time for his side to find their groove.

"The first half was pretty scrappy. There was high pressure, the conditions probably moved the ball into one part of the ground that made it difficult to move, so it was a bit of a stalemate for the first half," he said.

"We managed to open it up a bit after that and created a hell of a lot more scoring opportunities."

There's no doubt that the addition of several Giants back from injury helped level the playing field to a degree.

Sparks said that's a great thing for his own team, as they look for ways to push themselves and continue improving.

"I know Giants have had a couple of people out and they got a fair few of them back this week. That's a big positive for us because we always want to be playing the best possible sides," he said.

"To still put a reasonable margin on them was impressive.

"For us to maintain pressure into the second half and go on with the game is really exciting to see."

The return of Bailey Brien last week played a big role in the Giants' strong win over the Orange Tigers.

Fresh off his four-goal effort in that game skipper Brien kicked another two goals in the loss to the Bushrangers.

Coming back from a dislocated shoulder Brien said it's awesome to be among the action.

"It's been great to be back around the boys, getting them keen and motivated for footy again," he said.

"We were right on the pace with Bushrangers up to half-time. We were playing some good footy and doing the hard stuff. Their experience and skill took the game away from us after that.

"There's things we can learn from and work on out of this. We need to play through four quarters and not be happy just playing one half of footy.

"We're getting a few boys back in first grade and ressies. A few key inclusions over the next few weeks will hopefully get us hitting our straps at the right time of the year."

It's hoped that Brien's brother, Cooper, could return from a broken finger in time for finals.