GWS skipper Toby Greene on spreading the AFL word in NSW, 2023 finals heartbreak

AFL in NSW has come a long way since Toby Greene arrived at the Giants, but the GWS skipper is striving to get more kids playing footy, and grow even further in NRL heartland.

Toby Greene doesn’t overuse his words and when he came up with the idea for his latest business venture, he didn’t waste any.

“I just want more kids to play footy,” Greene told incoming AFL CEO Andrew Dillon and his executive team at the start of last year.

And so started a chain of events that saw 300 kids in Sydney across two days in October take part in the inaugural 5th Quarter Camp at the Greater Western Sydney Giants facility.

Greene has teamed up with Sydney Swans poster boy Isaac Heeney as the faces of the junior camps, which are spreading the AFL word far and wide throughout NSW.

The next camp is in Canberra at Ainslie Football Club on January 18, with another planned for the school holidays back in Sydney in April.

Greene is a foundation Giant – he’s been living in the Harbour City since late 2011 and has seen first-hand the battle the AFL have had trying to make an imprint in rugby league heartland.

Toby Greene with participants of the 5th Quarter Camp. Photo by Phil Hillyard

It has come a long way, with Greene laughing as he recalls what it was like in western Sydney when he first arrived.

“They only knew Israel Falou,” Greene says, referring to rugby league star who was lured over on big bucks to be the face of the Giants in their first two seasons.

“It’s changed a fair bit. Western Sydney, there is still a big area of work to do but the northern beaches, eastern suburbs and inner west, they’re all over (AFL).

“There is an area, there is room in the market for these camps as there is nothing in Sydney like it, whereas there are heaps in Melbourne.

“Rugby league will always be big up there but there is room for both. It’s the biggest state in Australia and there are definitely big areas of footy in Sydney.”

There is a lot more to Greene than what many may think.

For a large part of his career he’s been the Giants bad boy – and rightfully so given his history of on-field incidents – but there has been a warming in recent times.

Since he took over the captaincy last season in Adam Kingsley’s first as coach, the 30-year-old has won many over with his calm, mature leadership and matchwinning heroics which saw him kick 66 goals in the Giants’ climb to the preliminary final.

This road to redemption had its crowning moment when he was named the All-Australian captain.

Greene is coming off a remarkable 2023. Photo by Phil Hillyard

Off the field he has been quietly building up an impressive CV, completing a Bachelor of Commerce – majoring in International Business and Marketing plus a Master of Business Administration – and networking with some serious big hitters in the business world.

Through his contacts he convinced Harvey Norman to sign on as the major sponsor of the 5th Quarter Camps, while also having AFL NSW on board.

He likes to ask lots of questions, take in the information and then decide what bit works for him.

That’s how he approached being awarded the sole captaincy after Kingsley decided to scrap the Giants co-captain model.

“I like to ask as many people as I can, anyone I come across in footy,” Greene explains. “Trent Cotchin helped me a bit last year, James Hird when he was at the club the year before.

“I just feel that is the best way I learn, by asking people and then going, ‘Oh, that might work for me actually’.

“I do a lot more from Monday to Friday around the club, putting more time and effort into the leadership, but in terms of during a game, nothing too different to be honest as once you’re in the zone you’re just playing.”

Greene is aiming to have more kids in NSW playing Aussie rules. Photo by Phil Hillyard

During the Giants giant-killing September run – they only made the finals after a round 24 victory over Carlton – the skipper said this outfit wasn’t the most skilled but was “the best team I’ve played in my whole career”.

Given he’d played in a grand final and preliminary final previously, the comment raised eyebrows with a few former teammates and coaches sending through some text messages.

“I was taken a little bit out of context,” he says.

“What I was saying was I had the most faith that we were going to play well. We are still highly talented and we have got some serious talent coming through.

“What I meant was I knew what we were going to get from everyone.”

That got the Giants within a kick of making the grand final, with the heartbreaking one-point loss to eventual premier Collingwood in an epic preliminary final a hard pill to swallow.

Greene had an official duty at the grand final the following week but left before the start of the game and watched the contest with some mates in a pub.

The Giants fell a kick shy of the grand final. Photo by Phil Hillyard

“I had a strong belief that if we beat Collingwood, that whoever won that game was going to win it,” he says.

“I thought that before the prelim, but who knows. Brisbane was a bloody good side as well.

“You lose by a point, it definitely hurts because pretty much it is a flip of the coin whoever wins that. We had a lot more chances which we would have liked to have capitalised on.

“Now we’ve just got to put ourselves in that position again, get in the top four to give ourselves the best chance.

“It has been a big 12 months from where we were this time last year, there was a lot of uncertainty. I have got four or five years left of footy and I didn’t want to be playing for a bottom side or be a part of a rebuild.

“(Kingsley) has been awesome. He brought in such a strong culture and values. The game plan is a big one also and it’s been really fun. There were no expectations last year, now there are a lot.

“We have got a team that will embrace that, we know where we want to be at the end of September next year and that’s what we’re working towards.”

Apart from organising his 5th Quarter camps, Greene has another important duty in the pre-season with his partner, Georgia, expecting their first child in late February.

“It’s good timing as it’s the week before round 1,” Greene says.

“I don’t know what to expect but I’m open-minded.”

## 5th Quarter Camps, Canberra, Thursday January 18. Register at 5thquartercamps.com.au

Originally published as GWS skipper Toby Greene on spreading the AFL word in NSW, 2023 finals heartbreak