In a side full of established stars, young gun Finn Callaghan looks set to join the ranks of the Giants’ elite. Photo: AFL MEDIA

GWS
2023 record: 15 wins, 11 losses (4th)

THE INS
Phoenix Gothard (Murray Bushrangers), James Leake (Tasmania Devils), Joseph Fonti (Claremont), Harvey Thomas (Oakleigh Chargers), Nathan Wardius (Rand-Walbundrie-Walla)

THE OUTS
Phil Davis (retired), Daniel Lloyd (retired), Matt Flynn (West Coast), Cameron Fleeton (delisted), Jason Gilbee (delisted)

THE STRENGTHS
The Giants were responsible for one of the most remarkable footy stories of the past couple of decades last season. If it wasn’t for Carlton, which incredibly underwent a near-identical in-season transformation to GWS in 2023, the Giants would’ve received a lot more attention for their resurgence. After falling into the bottom four with a 4-8 record in the middle of the season, GWS went on a tear, winning 11 of its next 13 games to make it all the way to a preliminary final. After just one year, it’s plain to see that the Giants have got themselves a ripper of a coach in the no-nonsense Adam Kingsley who ruthlessly drives high standards and was responsible for bringing back the ‘orange tsunami’ which saw GWS routinely overwhelm the opposition with its running game from the backline. St Kilda coach Ross Lyon once famously coined the phrase ‘anywhere, anytime football team’, and the Giants are the living, breathing incarnation of that moniker. Last season they broke a VFL/AFL record by winning at 11 different venues, and their record on the road was a sparkling 9-5 (excluding their win over Hawthorn at the neutral Norwood Oval during Gather Round). Maybe it’s because they hardly ever draw big crowds to their own home games, but whatever the reason is, they are extremely comfortable playing in hostile environments. In fact, they seem to relish it. How else can one explain them coming so close to knocking off eventual premier Collingwood in a preliminary final in front of 97,655 mostly Magpies fans, only to fall short by a solitary point? Their line-up is awash with stars – most notably captain Toby Greene. The superstar produced his best year last year, kicking a career-high 66 goals and regularly playing key roles in victories. He was recognised for his efforts with the All-Australian captaincy and his third blazer. In the middle of the park they’ve got Tom Green, Josh Kelly and Stephen Coniglio leading the way. That trio played a key part in their side’s league rankings of second and fourth for tackles and disposals respectively in 2023. In attack, they have a fleet of small forwards to rival any in the AFL with Greene, Brent Daniels and Toby Bedford running amok, while Jesse Hogan and Harry Himmelberg belatedly found career-best form after 10 and eight seasons in the league respectively. Meanwhile, Sam Taylor and Jack Buckley are the lynchpins of a backline that also features the incredibly damaging Lachie Whitfield, Lachie Ash and Isaac Cumming, and Kieren Briggs was a revelation in the ruck last year, coming from nowhere to become one of the league’s pre-eminent big men.

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THE WEAKNESSES
Kingsley’s team might have been just two points away from a second grand final, but it has much to work on, still. Granted, the following figures probably are skewed by their horrible first half of the season, but they finished 2023 with just the eighth-ranked attack and 10th-best defence in the league. And despite having such a stacked midfield, GWS ended up 13th for clearances, 10th for contested possessions and ninth for inside 50s. Now, obviously, the Giants were a completely different team in the second half of the year, and if they hit the new season with that same kind of form, then they will rightly be a premiership contender. But those aforementioned rankings still serve as a stark warning to them not to start the year slowly and create too much of a hole to dig themselves out of. Ultimately, when one sees how close GWS came to a grand final after finishing the home-and-away season in seventh spot, the argument can easily be made that its 4-8 start could quite possibly have cost it a premiership. Imagine how close the Giants would have gone to a maiden flag if they finished in the top four, and maybe even earned a pair of home finals? The AFL is as even as it’s ever been and any little setback a team incurs, let alone self-inflicted ones, can be the difference between rooster and feather-duster at season’s end.

ONE TO WATCH
After completing his first full season last year, Finn Callaghan looks primed to become a star of the competition. The former No.3 pick quickly became a key part of the Giants’ line-up as they made their unlikely late charge towards a flag. He finished the season averaging 21 touches a game – sixth at the club – and with three finals already under his belt, the 20-year-old midfielder looks set to join Green, Coniglio and Kelly in the upper echelon of the Giants’ engine room.

UNDER THE PUMP
It might seem harsh, but added pressure always comes with being a No.1 draft pick, and that’s why there’ll be more than one keen onlooker tracking Aaron Cadman’s progress this year. Granted, it usually takes young key forwards longer to develop, but he struggled to have an impact in his 12 games last year, and has a lot of work to do to get a regular look-in this year as GWS once again finds itself in the premiership mix.

BEST 22
B: Connor Idun, Sam Taylor, Jack Buckley
HB: Lachie Whitfield, Harry Himmelberg, Lachie Ash
C: Finn Callaghan, Tom Green, Harry Perryman
HF: Brent Daniels, Jake Riccardi, Toby Bedford
F: Toby Greene, Jesse Hogan, Callum Brown
R: Kieren Briggs, Josh Kelly, Stephen Coniglio
Inter: Isaac Cumming, Callan Ward, Xavier O’Halloran, Nick Haynes
Emerg: Lachie Keeffe, Adam Kennedy, Ryan Angwin, Aaron Cadman

Veteran Adam Kennedy will be hoping to be fit and available early in the season after rupturing his ACL last year, and that will give GWS some welcome added depth. Conor Stone is another player returning from a long injury layoff, and the Giants will be keen to see the former first-round pick finally get a clear run at it this year. And with Matt Flynn departing, it could open up an opportunity for the luckless Braydon Preuss, who has missed the entire 2021 and 2023 seasons due to injury.

*all team stat rankings mentioned are based on differentials, not totals (apart from overall offence and defence).