GWS Giants’ trade losses dwarfs Gold Coast’s and makes Suns’ struggles look far worse
WHILE a lot has been made of Gold Coast’s on-field struggles and player losses, Greater Western Sydney has been picked clean by rivals and it makes its success all the more remarkable.
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A LOT has been made of Gold Coast’s player losses and on-field struggles.
However, Greater Western Sydney’s losses put the Suns’ in the shade.
There’s no doubt the Giants were handed far more draft concessions than their fellow expansion club but looking at the sheer number of players that have since departed and how the club has been able to remain successful is a tribute to the Giants’ coaching and development.
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The Suns are yet to make an appearance in the finals, while the Giants have two preliminary finals and a semi-final under their belt.
While Gold Coast have lost some serious talent — Harley Bennell, Josh Caddy, Dion Prestia and Tom Lynch were all taken inside the top 12 in the 2010 draft — GWS has lost double.
Since former No.3 pick Dom Tyson was traded, 14 first-rounders have been poached by rivals, and that’s not including the likes of under-age pre-selections such as Adam Treloar and Nathan Wilson.
It illustrates how bad Gold Coast’s initial set-up was in comparison to GWS and the smooth transition of coaching from Kevin Sheedy to Leon Cameron.
The Suns have now lost Tom Lynch and fellow captain Steven May, Aaron Hall and Kade Kolodjashnij could also be on the way out.
Yet, the Giants losses will once again outstrip their northern counterparts with Will Setterfield’s exit already confirmed while Tom Scully and Dylan Shiel could join him.
However, Giants list manager Jason McCartney believed the club was still capable of contending for premierships.
“We’re not going to shy away from it. We’ve created a wonderful culture at the footy club and if it wasn’t for the salary cap pressure there’s no doubt we would have been very inactive at this period,” he said on Trade Radio.
“We’re really confident with everything that’s going on we’ve got a good strong group and we’ll be contending for a premiership next year.”
Originally published as GWS Giants’ trade losses dwarfs Gold Coast’s and makes Suns’ struggles look far worse
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