‘That’s all I want’: Callan Ward’s premiership motivation at the Giants ahead of his 17th AFL season

Five games short of his 300th match, Callan Ward is as ready as ever to crack in for the Giants as they look to atone for last year’s preliminary finals heartbreak.

Callan Ward is ready to fire ahead of his 17th season in the AFL. Picture: Phil Hillyard

Callan Ward has never played more games in a season than he did in 2023, his 16th year in the AFL system.

Across 25 matches, the veteran midfielder became a key cog in a Giants side that exceeded all expectations in their march to the preliminary finals.

But as he prepares for season 17, Ward’s desire to win a premiership has never burned brighter than it does in Adam Kingsley’s second year in charge.

“It’s weird when you say season 17 because it doesn’t really feel like it to be honest,” Ward said.

“I don’t think I feel young, but I still feel young enough to be playing. So I’m excited.

“I think every AFL player just wants to play in premierships, but the longer you go on and the older you get, you just crave it more and more.

“I’ve been around for a long time and I came to the Giants for plenty of reasons. But the main one was probably to play in a premiership and I haven’t quite got there. So now I’m in season 13 at the Giants … that’s really all I want to do.”

Ward proved he was still up for the fight in 2023. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images

And while the tortuous task of another pre-season isn’t necessarily appealing to Ward – “I hate doing time trials, I hate running in general,” he joked – the former captain isn’t lacking any motivation to try and take his game to another level.

The hallmark of Kingsley’s side in 2023 was the rookie coach’s ability to get the best out of his experienced players.

After a quiet start to the year, a move into the centre stoppages for Ward proved to be the catalyst for him and the team to improve their midfield efficiency.

“Twelve months ago we didn’t really know where we were going to go … with the new coaches coming in and some new players as well,” Ward said.

“We proved to a lot of people that we’re in a really good spot, especially internally. And what we’ve got at the moment is good players from 18-33 who are all playing really good footy.

“I think the game plan really suited [the experienced players], especially the midfield group. It helps when you’re winning as well, I think we won 12 out of our last 14 in the second half of the year.

“I knew we had a really good list and it was just about getting it all together. And you know, we haven’t had a change of coach in eight years before Kingers came in, so it was all fresh and new and it’s really exciting to get some new fresh game plans and ideas as well.”

The Giants had a meteoric rise up the table in Adam Kingsley’s first game in charge. Picture: Phil Hillyard

Throughout their dozen years in the competition, the Giants have arguably never been better prepared for a premiership charge than they are in 2024.

According to Champion Data, they have the best depth in the AFL and have a league-high seven players ranked in the top 10 in their position.

To add to that talent, they also have a history of heartache. While the one-point loss to Collingwood at the MCG last September will be fresh in the memory, Ward has a litany of agonising defeats to draw on as motivation.

“Our first meeting back we spoke about the [Collingwood] game, it went for about an hour and a half,” Ward said.

“There were plenty of positives about that game. But if you lose a final by one point, there’s one or two per cent of things you can do better and you’re probably in a grand final.

“As a midfield, we got smashed on the day which is really disappointing. So there’s no doubt we’ll speak about that more going into [the rematch] in round one.

“For me, it’s probably the ‘16 prelim against the Dogs [that hurts most]. I didn’t play in the 2019 GF with my knee so that burns for the footy club.

“But 2016, up by 15 points or something in the last quarter against the Dogs and to end up losing that game. That was probably the one that really burns because I was pretty confident if we won that game we could probably go up against the Swans and beat them.

“That one burns, but hopefully in 2024 we can make it.”

The Giants’ 2016 preliminary final loss is still one of the biggest motivators for Ward. Picture: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images

Naturally, Ward has started to consider what life after footy might look like.

He’s been studying a trade in carpentry, but he’s getting a sense he might go in another direction: “I’m pretty keen to be a fireman, so if I can get there that would be good.”

But retirement is something that is still some time away in his mind. And while his priorities may have shifted with footy, he still holds that same youthful exuberance for playing the sport he loves with his 300 game milestone only five matches away.

“I don’t like to think too much about after footy,” Ward said.

“I’ve always looked at footy as something I love to do. And I think if you lose that love you shouldn’t be playing.

“There’s obviously other things in your life that you start to prioritise. I have a couple of kids now with my wife and I love spending time with them. They’re my number one.

“But at the same time, footy is super important to me and it’s the thing that I always want to be passionate about and I really want to get something out of my career.

“And I think that a premiership is the biggest thing I can get out of that.”

Originally published as ‘That’s all I want’: Callan Ward’s premiership motivation at the Giants ahead of his 17th AFL season