The Giants were dominant, winning 7.14 (56) to 1.5 (11) against league newcomers Richmond in front of an enthusiastic and impressive crowd of 3377 at Robertson Oval.

On the back of an outstanding midfield effort, led by a homegrown hero in Cookardinia's Alyce Parker, plus four goals to former Ireland Gaelic football star, Cora Staunton, GWS powered back into the top three in their conference.

The 45-point margin was the biggest in their AFLW history.

For the Giants, it was an impressive, if imperfect, response after a disappointing loss to Brisbane.

"I thought we trashed our brand a little bit last week and it was really good to play the way we played for probably 90 per cent of the game," McConnell said.

"Over the course of the week I became more and more optimistic about what we were going to put up. I was very confident ... we sort of looked inside ourselves pretty closely."

The Giants have altered wins and losses in their first five games but this victory suggested to McConnell they can match the teams they've lost to, North Melbourne and Brisbane, who both sit above them.

"I don't fear anybody in the competition on our our day," McConnell said.

"We know what we're capable of. I think all year we've had a bit of an achilles heel around our goalkicking.

"Today, 21 scoring shots, the game should've been well out of the opposition's reach well before three-quarter-time but it wasn't because, again, we've not nailed what we should."

The Giants looked the better side from the outset but didn't break away in the first half. They were winning the midfield battle but turnovers and poor conversion up forward kept them in check, held to an 18-point lead at half-time.

But after the break, they opened up as Parker (24 touches and four tackles) and Rebecca Beeson (18 touches, three tackles) continued to dominate the centre.

The Giants kicked three straight behinds, with a strong-leading and brilliant-marking Rebecca Privitelli (2.1) proving a handful for the Tigers.

It was Staunton making them pay though. She'd been right in the game early, kicking 1.1 in the first seven minutes. But her three goals in a row, while Richmond added only three points, had the Giants up by 39 points early in the last quarter.

"I thought our on-ballers early in the third quarter really made a big statement. They were tough. They tackled with a bit of venom in the second quarter but I thought we coughed the ball up a little bit," McConnell said.

He praised his team's leaders, particularly in the absence of injured captain Alicia Eva, and was pleased with his forward line's combination, if not necessarily the kicking.

"We do have a lot of girls who can mark the ball, ahead of the ball," he said.

"We've also tinkered with a ruckman down there for most of the season as well, which requires us to get it there with some speed, otherwise we're probably a little bit slow on being able to keep it in there.

"It's an interesting combination. I continue to believe that we can get there in the end with what we've got."

Richmond coach Tom Hunter was disappointed after they were outclassed by a quality outfit.

"We loved our effort and we loved our endeavour and the way we go about it. But unfortunately our ball use let us down today. We were probably overzealous at times, so one of our biggest strengths sometimes hurts us, defensively," Hunter said.

Hunter said it'd be good if he could clone their classy midfielder Monique Conti, who showed why she's a star. Phoebe Monahan joined in her in racking up more than 20 touches.

The Tigers coach doesn't believe they took a step backwards, but said they didn't see the improvement he'd hoped for.

Richmond were also without their captain, Katie Brennan, and a forward in Courtney Wakefield.

Stand-in captain Christina Bernardi said the Giants were too quick and clean, despite Richmond's pressure.

Disappointed in the result, the Tigers could still enjoy the occasion.

"It was really good - the crowd was good and Bec (Miller) for us is a hometown girl and there's quite a few goals from the Giants in their home town so it's great to be able to have their families down, and play in regional areas to get footy to grow, It was good," Bernardi said.

On a tough day out for Richmond's backline, Miller had five disposals and two tackles but worked hard to keep the pressure on the Giants.

Certainly the Giants' McConnell was thrilled with the occasion in Wagga, which he hopes might mark a turning point in their eight-game season.

"I think it's a great weekend for our footy club. We've got all of our women's squad here for the weekend. We get to enjoy what we did today, together, and we get to watch the guys (on Sunday)," he said.

Full-time:

GWS Giants 2.5, 3.8, 4.13, 7.14 (56)

Richmond 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.5 (11)

Goals: (GWS) Staunton 4, Privitelli 2, Halvorsen; (Richmond) Bernardi.

Best: (GWS) Staunton, Parker, Beeson, Privitelli, Tully, Bennetts; (Richmond) Conti, Monahan, Dempsey, Campbell.

Crowd: 3,377