Phil Davis living his prophecy eight years after walking out on the Crows for money — and shot at a flag
Phil Davis had to fight back tears before walking into a room to tell his Crows teammates he was leaving in 2011 to join GWS. He admitted money was a factor but eight years later he is also a step closer to fulfilling another prophecy behind his decision.
GWS
Don't miss out on the headlines from GWS. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- Grand final injury news: Graham keen to play
- Prizes, discounts, freebies: Check out the latest subscriber rewards
Eight years after walking out on the Crows for money, Phil Davis stands on the cusp of becoming a premiership captain and living his prophetic words when he became the first contracted player to defect to the GWS Giants.
In the final moments before he walked into the room to tell his teammates he was leaving West Lakes in 2011 after just 18 games in three seasons as a first-round draft pick, Davis fought back tears and was given time to compose himself.
Then as the Crows started their weekly game review, Davis walked in and delivered the news that he was joining the AFL’s newest expansion club.
Stream every match of the 2019 Toyota AFL Finals Series before the Grand Final Live & On-Demand on KAYO SPORTS. Get your 14 day free trial and start streaming instantly>
“That was a really tough thing for a 20-year-old to do, to get up in front of the group and tell them he was leaving,” said Mark Bickley, who was Adelaide’s caretaker coach at the time.
“He’d just come through with the group and had broken into the side. But I remember the discussion I had with him and he said that he had this unbelievable offer, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
At the time, Davis’ teammate Matthew Jaensch tweeted he had “800,000 reasons” to leave and while the godfather offer was never publicly confirmed, Davis said it played part in his decision.
“I’m not going to lie, money was a factor,” Davis told the media in 2011.
“Football is the main thing. It is an exciting challenge to be with a club from its start. I have family all through NSW, I grew up there. Creating a group that will hopefully win premierships — all that makes this an opportunity I would like to grasp.”
Providing he recovers from a finger, calf and shoulder injury he either sustained or aggravated in Saturday’s preliminary final win over Collingwood, GWS’s inaugural captain will lead the side into its first AFL grand final against Richmond this weekend.
He could have been captaining Adelaide and the Crows knew they had a future skipper on their hands the minute they drafted him from St Peter’s College and North Adelaide with Pick No. 10 in 2008.
“Our club is bloody disappointed Phil has made this decision. We understand it, but we don’t like it,” then football operations manager Phil Harper said when Davis left.
“When you lose a player who is 20 years old and whom we see as a future captain of our club and as a rising star, it’s certainly a massive loss on the back of losing another centre half back last year under similar circumstances.”
Ironically Adelaide’s chief executive at the time, Steven Trigg, was on an AFL committee to establish the list concessions GWS and Gold Coast would get when they entered the competition and 12 months before losing Davis they lost key defender Nathan Bock to the Suns.
“This organisation has been really good to me and the people within it have been fantastic. That’s probably been the hardest bit … you feel as though you’re letting someone down, but that was part of the tough decision,” Davis said in 2011.
It was hard going for Davis, who endured some serious injuries, and the Giants in the early years.
They went 2-20 through their inaugural season in 2012 including five 100-point hidings and a 162-point loss to Hawthorn.
They were 1-21 in 2013 but then 6-16 in 2014 which Davis considers the turning point in the club’s short history.
They lost preliminary finals in 2016 to the Bulldogs and 2017 to Richmond, and bowed out in the semi-final to Collingwood last year before exacting some revenge to make the 2019 grand final.
As Davis left the MCG on Saturday night he had a moment to himself where he touched the Giants logo on the wing.
“It’s been a really hard toil, we went through some very strange times at the start, they were difficult, jumping around different facilities and ovals, getting on a bus to get to the airport from western Sydney because we were all living together, getting smashed, and without a huge amount of proper success on the horizon,” he told SEN on Monday.
“Those resiliences and challenges make you a better football club and the reason we’ve won four or five games by less than a goal this year could be somehow contributed to that factor.”
Bickley said he was proud of Davis’ journey to the MCG this weekend.
“He’s become one of the most respected captains in the game and is loved by everyone,” Bickley said.
“There are certain players you come across that you tend to follow and keep in touch with and Phil is one of those.
“You can’t help but admire him. He plays in a position (key defender) where he gives away a bit physically but he makes up for that with smarts — positioning, timing and preparation. He’s been a diamond.”
reece.homfray@news.com.au