AFL finals 2023: Go behind the scenes with Brent Daniels in the Giants’ finals camp

GWS are preparing a September charge and Brent Daniels is set to play a big role. The pocket rocket takes us behind the scenes of the Giants’ finals camp.

Daniels is fit and firing for the Giants’ 2023 finals campaign. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images

He’s the pocket rocket Giants midfielder responsible for some of the club’s biggest finals moments.

But Brent Daniels has taken his game to another level in 2023 and is set to play an important role in GWS’ September charge.

The 24-year-old takes us behind the scenes as he prepares for the Giants’ biggest match of the year in the elimination final against St Kilda at the MCG.

DAY 1 – MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 4

The week starts with a low-intensity catch-up at Giants HQ. Despite the bye week, Monday is a recovery session with massages and weights as the focus.

Daniels lives with teammate Harry Perryman and his girlfriend in Drummoyne. However, the pair don’t make the 15-minute commute to Olympic Park together, Daniels instead preferring his own car and entertainment.

“I’ve been listening to a fair bit of Taylor Swift lately,” Daniels said. “I’m not a big music guy so whatever is possible.” He’s currently without tickets to her Sydney concert but is assured that Josh Kelly is working on it.

Daniels and Perryman have formed a close bond during their time at GWS. Picture: Phil Hillyard

Often the players get in early to chat over the coffee. “A lot of it is talking a lot of rubbish,” he said. Daniels then heads home in the early afternoon to completely unwind before the busy week ahead.

Any given afternoon could include a bit of golf or walking his dog, Max. But this time it’s sitting down in front of his PS5 to play the new Madden game.

“I enjoy my NFL so I’m keen for that to start,” Daniels said. “I only just got the game but I played Josh Kelly the other day and had his measure pretty easily.”

The night finishes with watching a bit of TV. He’ll take in a bit of AFL 360 and Footy Classified, although he makes clear he’s not a nuffy – “I’m not a footy head but I do love having a look at the opinions floating around.”

DAY 2 – TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5

It’s an early morning on Tuesday as the Giants make the most of the glorious Sydney weather and hit the training track.

Adam Kingsley puts them through a light session where they work on their inside 50 entries and structures down the line.

But the real fun begins when skipper Toby Greene challenges Toby Bedford to a shooting challenge from the pocket.

“He’s always pretty competitive, he never loses,” Daniels said of his captain. “But when he does lose, he never admits it.”

Usually, there’s a coffee from the club on the line, and today Toby junior comes away with the win – “Toby [Greene] never seems to pay up so we’ll have to get a few coffees off him.”

Greene and Bedford got very competitive at training on Tuesday. Picture: Phil Hillyard

The team splits into groups after lunch for line meetings and some preliminary planning for St Kilda. The chats are “short and sweet” but they give them a good foundation for the weekend’s tactics.

Daniels heads home to walk Max around Drummoyne Oval before turning his attention to dinner. Perryman and his partner usually deal with their own food so it’s left to Daniels to sort his own meal.

“Last year I was a chronic Uber Eats man and it’s something I’ve tried to improve on in my diet,” he said. “Usually it’s just meat and veg, stir fries and those types of things.”

DAY 3 – WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6

Daniels starts the day walking the dog with a coffee in hand before catching up with a number of his teammates at Bronte Beach.

The group spend a couple of hours there, talking about the footy over lunch and doing their best to keep everyone relaxed ahead of Saturday.

It’s also the perfect example of why so many players love being out of the footy bubble in Sydney.

At one stage, the plan is to go to Callan Ward’s place for a pre-game haircut. “He’s cut my hair a few times so I might go and catch up with him,” Daniels said. “I’ve done mine the night before a game in his hotel room and he cuts them in his house as well.”

While it might not be a future career option for the former Giants captain, Daniels admits that Ward “does not do a bad job”.

It’s another quiet night before the main training session of the week on Thursday. Although there’s no Madden rematch with Kelly – “I think he’s running scared”.

Ward takes a closer look at Daniels’ hair during a game. Picture: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

DAY 4 – THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 7

The main session on Thursday starts with recapping the Tuesday meetings to understand the exact skills they want to work on.

There’s a focus on the fundamentals as well as scenario-based footy such as moving the ball out of their defensive half in as little time as possible. They also split the squad to run a bit of match play.

“I think it’s important to train at an intensity that is still going to stand up in games,” he said. “We’re not going out there to kill each other, but you have to train how you play.”

The coaches then go away for match committee where they select the side. Daniels admits he probably won’t find out until it’s released online with only players on the edges of the squad needing to be informed.

The big inclusion is Sam Taylor who got through a big session and looks primed to take on Max King – “He’s the best key back in the comp, he makes us so much better.”

Daniels contests for the ball at Giants training. Picture: Phil Hillyard

Thankfully for the Giants, they receive the positive news that Bedford’s appeal has been successful. Daniels admits he wasn’t confident he was going to get off but knows the team will be better for it.

After doing a bit of packing for their trip to Melbourne, he sits down with Perryman to watch the Pies-Dees qualifying final.

“We’re both old Collingwood supporters so when they’re playing, we have an extra barrack for them.”

DAY 5 – FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8

The Giants chose to have their captain’s run in Sydney before heading down to Melbourne for Saturday’s game.

The group met at Olympic Park for a light run through, with plenty of the boys getting around Bedford after his successful appeal.

It was a far cry from the rest of the week with stormy conditions making it a much less pleasant training experience.

The group then made their way to Sydney Airport where the weather further impacted their travel arrangements.

They missed out on the many cancellations, but their flight to Melbourne was delayed by more than two hours.

On arriving into Tullamarine, it was another quiet night planned for the group as they made it to the hotel just before 7pm.

It proved just enough time for Daniels to grab some dinner from the hotel before meeting some of his teammates to watch the Carlton-Swans elimination final from their rooms.

Originally published as AFL finals 2023: Go behind the scenes with Brent Daniels in the Giants’ finals camp