It seems punters were impressed with Greater Western Sydney’s initial showing at the NAB Cup over the weekend, with online bookmaker sportsbet.com.au taking dozens of bets on the new club to do well throughout the 2012 season on the back of their narrow losses to the Bulldogs and Magpies.

At odds of $14, plenty of bets have been placed on GWS since Saturday night to knock off the Sydney Swans ($1.02) in their round one match, with more money being placed on the Giants to win at this stage.

Likewise, some punters have seen enough to think GWS can make the top 8 and have backed the Giants over the weekend at odds of $81 to make the finals, including one bet of $100 to win $8,000.

Fans also liked what they saw in young gun Stephen Coniglio, with the midfielder firming from $10 to $9.00 to win the Rising Star award.

“The punters saw enough to think the Giants will be more competitive this season than first thought,” said sportsbet.com.au’s Shaun Anderson. “Obviously they are keen to jump on before their odds firm if they continue to do well over the pre-season.”