Track watch: New Demon Harry Sharp shines as young Giants step up in pre-season training
A new rookie has upstaged Marcus Bontempelli on the training track, while Demons fans are hoping a stint at Melbourne will help convince Jeff White’s son Kalani to pick them over the Suns.
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New Demon Harry Sharp has made a statement early in his first pre-season at Melbourne, beating the field in a 2km time trial.
The former Lion was sent to Melbourne for the 49th pick in October’s trade period, with an eye to adding him to a wing rotation that features Ed Langdon and Caleb Windsor.
And Sharp showed off his running capabilities by pushing past the field to win the time trial at Gosch’s Paddock, ahead of father-son two-gamer Kynan Brown and perennial strong runner Tom McDonald.
Kade Chandler and Tom Sparrow rounded out the top five.
The time trial kicked off a marathon session that neared two-and-a-half hours for the Dees as the temperature in Melbourne headed towards 30 degrees.
A pair of fresh faces joined in the heated session, with academy prospect Toby Sinnema and father-son hope Kalani White joining the Dees.
Sinnema, who turns 17 on December 11, is a midfielder.
And budding ruck White is the son of Jeff White, who played 236 games for the Demons, and could be taken as a father-son in next years draft.
White is set to also train with the Suns later in pre-season and has a choice between the two clubs as he is a Gold Coast academy member.
Sharp, who it was recently announced will don the No.30 at Melbourne, played 16 games across four seasons at Brisbane, including six this year.
But the final three of those came as the starting sub and he headed to Melbourne in search of more game time.
McDonald openly opined that 2024 could be his final year but after shrugging off a nagging foot problem, he was sent back to defence and finished 10th in the club best-and-fairest.
Brown’s only two games came in the second half of the year as a starting sub and he was left to wait until the end of the year before signing a one-year deal.
Over at the Whitten Oval, draftee Luke Kennedy made a big impression on skipper Marcus Bontempelli, pipping the superstar in a Bulldogs 2km time trial.
Kennedy was taken with the 62nd pick in last month’s national draft but was at the top of the podium, with Cody Weightman finishing third.
And at Waverley, onlookers were not surprised to see running machine Josh Weddle at the front of a pack charging through a six minute running drill on Monday morning.
GIANTS READY TO DRAW ‘LINE IN THE SAND’
The Giants are ready to draw “a line in the sand” both on and off the field after returning to the club for their official start of pre-season on Monday.
The club was left to rue a devastating end to their 2024 campaign after blowing back-to-back leads against the Swans and the Lions in finals to bow out in straight sets. The playing group then created more headlines following their inappropriate behaviour at a post-season gathering which ended with 13 players handed sanctions by the AFL.
Tom Green, a member of the Giants’ leadership group and one of seven players handed a $5000 fine, believes the team is taking steps in the right direction to learn from both incidents.
“The season ended really poorly from our point of view,” Green said.
“On the field, we just didn’t execute in those finals how we wanted to do. There’s a whole lot of work for us to do to be able to go to that next step where we think we’re good enough to go. Over the last couple of years, we’ve fallen short and it shows we’re probably not good enough.
“(The post-season gathering was) also not good enough. It was a real error of judgement on all of our behalves. I suppose on and off the field, it’s been an off-season where we’ve had to learn a lot and have to get a lot better.
“As a leader, I’m in the leadership group…I’m meant to be setting the example and being a role model. In that moment, I failed to do so.
“What happened on that Wednesday doesn’t have any correlation to what happens on the field. It’s more important we get (the off-field) right because that isn’t acceptable. But in both respects, it is a line-in-the-sand moment. That’s nowhere near good enough on and off the field and we need to get better in both spaces.”
There have been several changes to the Giants’ list ahead of 2025 with plenty of experience out the door. That includes Harry Perryman who GWS will come up against in the Opening Round when they take on Collingwood – “There might be a little prize for whoever gets (the first tackle on Harry),” Green said.
But while there’s still a long way to go until that opening match of the season, there is optimism that the age and talent profile of the Giants’ list will see them near the top of the ladder again. And particularly with the addition of proven goal-scorer Jake Stringer, Green is hopeful the club’s fortunes will turn.
“I’ve spoken with him a little bit, he’s great,” Green said of Stringer. “He seems like he’s settling in really well.
“Particularly for this time of year, there’s still a long way to go between now and Opening Round, but it seems like everyone is in pretty good touch.”
FORMER DEE DOMINATES TIME TRIAL
Toby Bedford dominated the Giants’ two-kilometre time trial as the full AFL squad returned to the track on Monday morning.
With temperatures hitting 34 degrees and not a cloud in sight, the majority of the club’s players got the dreaded test out of the way.
Bedford led from start to finish in the front group, looking in second gear for the first three laps before turning on the afterburners to sprint across the finish line. Fringe wingman Ryan Angwin kept pace with Bedford for three-quarters of the time trial before just losing touch at the last bend, while Xavier O’Halloran produced an impressive finish to round off the podium.
A handful of Giants weren’t involved in the time trial including new recruit Jake Stringer, young speedster Darcy Jones and several players who are working their way back from injury including Josh Kelly, Kieren Briggs and Harvey Thomas. Callan Ward was also not at the session after welcoming his third child recently.
Stringer did participate in the rest of the session as Adam Kingsley put his players through some intense match play drills. The emphasis was on a variety of transition out of defence while also finding different targets entering forward 50.
The former Bomber linked up well with his new teammates including captain Toby Greene and Jesse Hogan. However, Aaron Cadman, Jake Riccardi and Brent Daniels were among those who stood out on day one with positions in the forward line set to be a hot commodity.
Leek Aleer is one player who looks poised to have a big pre-season, leading his group during the time trial and actively playing on some of the Giants’ best forwards during the match play scenarios.
Off-contract at the end of next season, Aleer will be hoping to push for a starting role particularly with the departure of Harry Perryman, Isaac Cumming and Nick Haynes.
The heat got the better of some of the players throughout the session, resorting to the bushes at the side of the field for a quick vomit.
Stephen Coniglio is the only player on the long-term injury list as he recovers from facial and shoulder surgery, with the club hoping he will be back in full training by the end of January. The vice-captain was at the session on Monday and was put through his paces with some running and agility drills.
PLAYERS WHO IMPRESSED
Jake Riccardi
Riccardi is one of several players at the club with a point to prove for multiple reasons in 2024. Injury saw him drop out of the best 23 and lose his spot to Lachie Keeffe for finals, but he trained strongly and was looking physically fit during the forward drills.
Finn Callaghan
One of the Giants’ most talented prospects, Callaghan is off-contract at the end of 2025 and by next year could elevate his name into the discussion as one of the best young players in the competition. Every pre-season he has come back looking better than the last, while his athleticism and ball-handling look to have taken another step up even if it was just the first main session of the season.
Jacob Wehr
Wehr played 11 matches last season but fell out of favour in the back half of the year. He earned another opportunity to impress via the rookie list and will be one of the early contenders for the vacant wing spot opened up by Isaac Cumming’s departure. Has brilliantly service by boot, the next step is matching his efficiency with his work at the contest.
Nick Madden
The 20-year-old is yet to make his AFL debut but was close on several occasions in 2024 before a long-term ankle injury ended his season. After amassing some standout showings in the ruck at VFL level, he has trimmed down and looks ready to put some more pressure on Kieren Briggs’ role in the side.
James Leake
Another impressive youngster yet to debut, last year’s first-round draft pick was touted for his versatility and could be a prime candidate to replace Harry Perryman as the Giants’ Mr Fix-It. Whether it’s running off halfback or working further up the ground, Leake is ready to build off some strong VFL matches and show Adam Kingsley he deserves a place come opening round.
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