Callan Ward committing to his two loves, fiance Ruby Keddie and hard work on the football field

Giants co-captain Callan Ward will share the biggest day of his life with his teammates and he is confident such a bond will only aid the club’s push for success in 2019.

Giants co-captain Callan Ward will share the biggest day of his life with his teammates on Saturday and he is confident such a bond will only aid the club’s push for success as preparations heat up for the 2019 season.

The 28-year-old marries fiancee Ruby Keddie in Sydney with around 16 of his GWS teammates expected to attend.

But after a few days’ break, it will be back to sweating buckets for the other love of his life.

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Ward spent Friday sweltering on the training track as coach Leon Cameron and his staff continued to put the players through a meticulous pre-season program ahead of the new campaign.

“I’ve been copping it,” he tells The Saturday Telegraph.

“I’ve a few days off after the wedding and apparently next week’s a really solid week of training. The boys are pretty jealous, but no, seriously, they’re pretty happy for me. I think I’ve 15 or 16 players coming (to the wedding).”

GWS co-captain Callan Ward and soon-to-be wife Ruby Keddie. Picture: Michael Klein

Ward accepts that there’s no gain without pain, and however brutal a Sydney summer can be, players have to, quite literally, get with the program.

“It gets pretty hot in Melbourne but in Sydney it’s really humid as well,” Ward said.

“It makes it really hard to breathe on days like today. If you’re trying to cover 12 or 13km, yes it makes it pretty tough.

“But this work is important. Now we’ve only six, seven weeks or so to prepare for the JLT and then Round 1.

“We’ve lost some key players but at the same time we have other guys who can step up. We’ve these young guys coming through, really pushing for spots now consistently and with the guys leaving it’s a great opportunity for them.

Giants co-captain Callan Ward hunts the ball. Picture: Phil Hillyard

“I think the feeling among the group is one of confidence and we all believe we have a really good squad and a team that’s good enough to challenge anyone.”

As Friday’s session drew to a close, coach Leon Cameron decided to check out the temperature.

“I’m just looking at my phone, currently says 34,” he said.

“But look, it doesn’t matter where you are (in the country) these heatwaves will hit you.

“It’s good to have some cooler days as well but it’s been really taxing the last week and a half. There’s no doubt judging players’ performances throughout pre-season on the basis of a scientific outlook is far superior than when I used to play but you still need flexibility as there’s a common sense element. It’s also about the eye as well.

“Ultimately every coach would love the majority of your players out there completing 80 odd per cent of your training and we’re currently getting that at the moment.”