Phil Davis says GWS isn’t feeling the pressure to win the premiership this year
GWS co-captain Phil Davis has helped steer the club into a position where a first flag is a very real prospect but the window of opportunity is far from closing, he tells Jon Ritson in this exclusive interview.
At the halfway mark of the season, Phil Davis believes the Giants are building nicely ahead of another finals tilt but disagrees that it’s “now or never” for the club to win a premiership.
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How would you assess the Giants’ campaign so far?
I feel like we’ve played some really good football but we’ve actually learnt a huge amount, different lessons from wins and losses along the way. We’re 8-4, hopefully 9-4 after Sunday. We haven’t hit our peak yet, which is really important, but we’re definitely tracking in the right direction. Young players have stood up and senior players have continued to get better so it’s been a very pleasing start.
What constitutes success over the second half of the season?
We expect to play better than we have in the first half of the year. That’s going to be what I think success is. If we continue to push towards the top of the ladder, play in some really big matches because we want to be deep into September and challenging for the ultimate success.
Who deserves special mention for their efforts?
For pure output of performance, you look at Stephen Coniglio, Lachie Whitfield and Jeremy Cameron as the three standouts for their ability to dominate matches. But then you look at Jacob Hopper and Tim Taranto, mid-tier midfielders who have now pushed themselves up and are arguably A-graders now as well. Then you look at Matt de Boer, 29, who has changed his role to a tagger and is doing an unbelievable job.
There’s a lot of talk about a window for success. Is it this season or else?
You hear that commentary but then I think about our list. What will be different next year. I can’t see too many retirements on the horizon and then you look at the Hoppers, Tarantos, Brent Daniels, Jye Caldwell, Jackson Hately — in their first year still.
I don’t feel the pressure that it has to be this year. I want it to be this year, there’s no doubt about it. But I think the “window” is a strange concept. I don’t think anyone thought the Bulldogs were in the window in 2016, or Richmond in ’17 or Collingwood last year to get all the way to the grand final.
But no doubt we’ve got a list this year to contend but I also think we’re set up really well through Wayne Campbell (head of football), Jason McCartney (list manager) and Adrian Caruso (national recruiting manager), to have some really good sustained success.
Has the lack of a cost of living allowance (COLA) hurt the club?
I think without a doubt. I’ve seen teammates who you think shouldn’t struggle for money, struggle for money just to make ends meet. If you compare that to living in parts of Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide they don’t have those issues. There’s no doubt that how COLA was done before was probably the wrong way.
It was put towards the top two to five players. It’s more important for the bottom 25 per cent on the list who need to be comfortable and need some level of allowance so everyone’s got the right mindset to come and play in Sydney and have an equal opportunity.
As a senior figure in the AFLPA, how serious are concerns on gambling and mental health?
Between the ages of 18 and 30, gambling, drinking, drugs etc is a cultural community problem as well and we fit into that demographic. Should we (players) be held to a higher account? Me, I probably think so. I think we have an opportunity to reflect very positively on good behaviour so that young people that do look in our direction can be like ‘that’s a good role model’ and we can actually help society, which I think is important.
The challenges and stresses on a player now have never been so many. Social media just added a whole new element. It’s 24/7. There needs to be a mature discussion, serious thought and proper planning put in place.
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