Gary Buckenara analyses GWS’ list after the 2018 season
GWS lost key players Dylan Shiel, Tom Scully and Rory Lobb during the trade period, joining a swag of stars who have already left. Does there departure mean the Giants can’t win the premiership next year? Gary Buckenara on what it all means.
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THE pressure is mounting at GWS.
After starting another season as one of the premiership favourites, the Giants ended 2018 without silverware … again.
While there is an excuse given the club has endured a horrid injury run over the last two years, the fact is football clubs rarely use that as a get-out clause. It was a good effort to make the finals with key players like Josh Kelly, Toby Greene, Tom Scully, Zac Williams, Brett Deledio, Heath Shaw, Dawson Simpson and Zac Williams missing large chunks of the year but ultimately it was another disappointing end to the season as a Grand Final berth continues to elude them.
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After making the preliminary final in 2016 and 2017, the Giants were knocked out of the finals a week earlier in 2018 and I believe that will trigger a deep end of season review to examine all areas, in particular the medical and fitness departments, to find out where the club is going wrong.
There’s more to a football club than injuries and for a team with a list like the one GWS has had, to still be without a flag is a major disappointment. There is no doubt the club and its powerbrokers would have expected a premiership by now.
The Giants have a talented and balanced list but talent never guarantees success. It only gets you so far. On paper, with names like Kelly, Coniglio, Greene, Deledio, Cameron, Shaw, Davis, Shiel (before he was traded), Whitfield, Scully (before he was traded) and Ward, GWS has promised to deliver great things but we’re all still waiting for them to come through with the goods.
The clock is well and truly ticking.
GWS had access to some of the best young talent back in 2011 when it was allowed to sign 12 of the best 17-year-olds in the country before officially joining the competition in 2012, before having access to nine of the top 15 draft picks in the 2012 draft. Many of those top picks have now moved to other clubs.
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Adam Treloar, Taylor Adams, Devon Smith, Will Hoskin-Elliott, Nathan Wilson, Josh Bruce, Tom Boyd, Caleb Marchbank and Lachie Plowman are all stars or emerging stars who have left the Giants and gone on to thrive at their new clubs.
This year, Dylan Shiel, Rory Lobb, Tom Scully and Will Setterfield join them in departing.
The question has to be asked: Why was GWS in such a bad position with its salary cap?
The club has come out and said it’s because of the abolition of the COLA (cost of living allowance) but to be honest, that’s rubbish.
What happens when you establish such a talented list and they start to develop, player managers want the best deal for their players and that means you either match market value or you lose them. GWS hasn’t created a Grand Final or premiership dynasty as such yet, there’s still potential to do that, but players haven’t seen that success that was forecast and so probably haven’t been willing to accept less than market value. They haven’t even reached a Grand Final despite all the talent.
The Giants have had plenty of time to work around the COLA and to get things in order. That’s just an excuse. The club had to prepare for these days, where players want more money, to be coming. It’s been mismanaged big time.
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MELBOURNE: ARE THE DEES BETTER OFF WITHOUT HOGAN?
HAWTHORN: WHY HAWKS WERE BIG TRADE WINNERS
GEELONG: WHY CATS WERE RIGHT TO STAND FIRM ON KELLY
SYDNEY: CAN THE SWANS STILL WIN A FLAG WITH BUDDY?
FREMANTLE: LOBB COULD BE BEST RECRUIT OF TRADE PERIOD
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The Giants were in danger of missing the eight, and were written off at various stages this year — are we now seeing the result of these guns leaving? I believe the depth at the Giants is now being seriously tested and while two years ago they had the best depth in the league, I don’t think that’s the case anymore.
Collingwood is a prime example. The Magpies endured a wretched run with injuries this year that rivalled GWS’s injury toll, with players including Treloar, Jamie Elliott, Darcy Moore, Daniel Wells, Lynden Dunn, Tyson Goldsack and Matt Scharenberg all missing much of the season, and yet they were one kick away from winning the premiership.
For Collingwood to finish ahead of GWS — and knock them out of the finals — was a remarkable effort and it should leave the Giants questioning why they can’t find a way to fight through adversity and be successful.
The Giants weren’t big losers or big winners during the trade period given the draft picks it was able to accumulate for the departures of Shiel and Lobb departing in particular but it will hurt their on-field performance in 2019 as the players they recruit with those picks are for the future.
Of the four players who’ve left, Lobb is the biggest loss. He is probably the best forward/ruckman in the AFL and finding those types of players is very hard. The Giants will need to look for at least one or two ruckmen in the draft — whether it’s Shane Mumford out of retirement or a player from a state-league — as it’s a desperate need.
There are some very interesting times ahead for GWS and 2019 looms as a make or break season for Leon Cameron, his team and the entire club.
GWS’ LIST NEEDS
The ruck is the biggest worry. Since Shane Mumford retired the Giants haven’t been able to find a dominant big man who can give his midfielders first use. Dawson Simpson is serviceable at best and with Lobb traded it leaves a massive hole. Finding an experienced No.1 ruckman is a critical and urgent need.
The Giants’ midfield depth should get better next year if Aidan Bonar, Harry Perryman and even Isaac Cumming follow the development shown by Jacob Hopper and Tim Taranto but the concern is, with Shiel now gone, will too much be left to Kelly? We saw when Kelly was missing this year the Giants really lacked a spark through the middle of the ground but when he returned they looked like a completely different team. Hopper, Taranto, Perryman and Bonar are still learning and finding their way at AFL level.
PLAYERS WHO NEED TO STEP UP IN 2019
What’s happened to Jeremy Cameron? Three years ago he was one of the best forwards in the competition having kicked 63 and 53 goals in successive seasons but he hasn’t looked like the same player since. He can be undisciplined at times — not only with acts that get him suspended but also in giving away silly free kicks — and despite booting 46 goals this season, he hasn’t had the same impact as previous years. He only kicked four or more goals against bottom sides the Bulldogs, Blues and Suns this year, which only backs up the fact he isn’t quite the player he was circa 2015-16. I want to see him tear games apart again in 2019.
Toby Greene. While he can be undisciplined and opposition fans love to hate him, he is an absolute star who transforms the Giants when he’s playing. He’s got swagger but most importantly he’s a matchwinner who can turn a game with a moment of brilliance. He played only nine games this year after 19 of a possible 25 last year. He must get his body right and play every game if he can next year.
Deledio hasn’t given the Giants much return on their investment after they traded a first-round pick for the former Richmond star. He has played only 18 games in two years for GWS, which is nowhere near enough even despite his injury history. Deledio moved to western Sydney to win a premiership — is he going to retire without one? He’s shown he can still play good football and managing his training loads over pre-season to get him up and running for Round 1 must happen. Needs to play at least 15 or more games next year.
CRYSTAL BALL
The Giants have enough talent to play finals next year but are they still a premiership threat given the calibre of the players that left during the trade period?
I think they are as they’ve still got a good core group of players with Davis, Ward, Whitfield, Cameron, Coniglio, Kelly, Greene, Deledio, Shaw, Haynes, Himmelberg, Williams and Tomlinson but they need luck with injuries and must be harder and more resilient as a group. The Giants also need to develop that manic pressure and team-first attitude that has made Richmond and Collingwood successful. Without that harder edge as a group the Giants won’t be premiership contenders and it will be a huge wasted opportunity for everyone involved.
Their time is now.
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