GWS star Toby Greene showing leadership even his coach didn’t expect

The Toby Greene GWS coach Adam Kingsley sees is not the one who roughed up a Bulldogs star four years ago to start a rivalry set to continue this weekend.

Toby Greene is one of the game’s best. Picture: Mark Kolbe/AFL Photos/via Getty Images

If the best players in the AFL were reduced to a pack of five, GWS superstar Toby Greene has to be among them according to his coach Adam Kingsley.

Greene’s last-gasp goal to steer GWS to a come-from-behind win over cross-town rivals Sydney last week, one of four he kicked in a matchwinning performance, was another example of the “significant” impact he has on nearly every game he plays.

It moved plenty to readjust their “best player” lists and move Greene into a chat with red-hot Magpie Nick Daicos, Geelong’s unstoppable Jeremy Cameron, Melbourne midfield machine Clayton Oliver and Western Bulldog gun Marcus Bontempelli, who is in opposition for GWS this week.

But his status among the AFL elite is of less consequence than the first-year captain’s substantial impact on a playing group that “almost forces” Greene’s teammates to follow their skipper in the quest for better.

Kingsley said he knew what he was getting from Greene the player when he took the helm at the Giants, given he had torn plenty of teams apart during his 198 games as a foundation GWS player.

But his impact beyond the field reshaped Kingsley’s appreciation for the best player he’s got.

“It‘s always hard when you’re external, you see the on-field stuff, and you know that he’s one of the great players in the competition. I knew that coming in,” Kingsley said of Greene.

“But to see the way that he conducts himself week to week, the help that he provides his teammates, both on and off the field, whether it’s training, whether it’s vision, whether it’s a few words of advice, his leadership around the group is really strong.

Adam Kingsley is a big fan of and Toby Greene. Picture: Phil Hillyard

“And he trains in a way that almost forces you to follow him, and he certainly leads the way in that in that sense as well.

“I’m pleasantly surprised that he is that type of character who’s a great teammate, a great leader, and certainly through actions as well as words.”

Greene’s actions against the Bulldogs have not always been the type to lead. Four years ago, in 2019, he was fined $7500 for what looked an eye-gouge on Bontempelli but was classified as rough conduct.

It was one among a hit list of incidents between the two rivals that has simmered since the Dogs toppled GWS on the way to their 2016 premiership.

Rivalries can’t be manufactured from nothing, and Kingsley knows, already, this week’s clash with the Bulldogs is no ordinary game.

“It‘s a big game. Obviously, they’ve had some really strong battles in the past, finals battles where they’ve been really close intense games,” he said.

“I would probably suggest outside of the (Sydney) Swans, this is this is probably the biggest game that our players play.”

Greene’s clash with Marcus Bontempelli in 2019

Bontempelli, second favourite for the Brownlow, should be in for some “attention” too, although not in the style of Greene in 2019, and they are unlikely to meet too often on the field.

“Not unless Bont plays fullback,” Kingsley said.

“We will certainly have attention on him, that’s for sure. If you let him run around by himself, allowed to do whatever he wants, then obviously he’s going to have an enormous impact on the game, so we’ll try and nullify that as best as we possibly can.

“We haven’t sort of sat down and discussed what it’s going to look like … but we’ll certainly be paying him close attention.”

Originally published as GWS star Toby Greene showing leadership even his coach didn’t expect