Giants’ AFL season on the brink as Adam Kingsley attempts to fix underperforming midfield

The Giants’ midfield is in disarray — and with key players sidelined — their top-eight aspirations are hanging by a thread. Can Adam Kingsley find a solution before it’s too late?

The GWS midfield is struggling. Picture: Getty Images

The Giants currently boast one of the most underperforming midfields in the AFL and are sitting ducks to drop out of the top eight after losing four of their past five matches.

Adam Kingsley’s side had a strong start to the season, but outside of their impressive win in Geelong, their midfield hasn’t been able to produce the consistency the third-year coach has demanded.

Across the past six weeks, they have been the second-worst team in the AFL at generating clearances, and have the lowest figure in the competition of points from clearances in the same time frame. It’s the first time since 2022 that they’ve been ranked last for that statistic.

It fell to an alarming level again in the defeat to Walyalup (Fremantle), losing clearances by 11 and first possessions by 27. The figure of -27 first possessions is the second-worst in the Giants’ history.

With Callaghan set to spend multiple weeks on the sidelines with a shoulder injury, the Giants’ midfield looks even more bare this weekend against Carlton. Picture: Phil Hillyard

“It was frustrating, but I was more disappointed with our lack of work,” Kingsley said post-match.

“We looked flat. We looked like we didn’t have run. That happens at times, we’ll move on quickly.

“Centre bounce has been a little bit concerning over the course of the season. We poured a little bit of focus into that during the week. From a starting position, it was fine; their ability to get after it was better than ours. Their ability to fight through tackle was better than ours.

“We hope that that’s a one-week thing and we move on pretty quickly and it won’t look like that next week.”

Kingsley also felt that every other team in the competition has had a performance like that in the past 10 weeks, but their current injury problems mean they’re at risk of dropping even further if they can’t right the ship.

Outside of Tom Green, Finn Callaghan is the midfielder who has attended the most centre bounces. The 22-year-old is now set for at least a few weeks on the sidelines after a shoulder dislocation in the loss to Walyalup.

Two of their other top six for CBAs – Josh Kelly (hip) and Toby McMullin (adductor) – are also injured, while Toby Bedford is more of a tagger whose responsibility isn’t winning clearances, but stopping his opponent from doing so.

It leaves Green as the only main option going into Saturday’s clash against Carlton. Skipper Toby Greene will likely spend more time there like he did against Geelong, while Kingsley may also be forced to turn to youth in either James Leake or Harry Rowston to fill the midfield.

Peatling became a key part of GWS’ midfield plans last season and has been sorely missed in midfield. Picture: Phil Hillyard

One of the obvious problems for GWS is that they haven’t been able to replace the impact that James Peatling has in the back half of last season. Across the last eight games of 2024, Peatling averaged nearly five clearances a game and emerged as a genuine ball winner in the Giants’ midfield, who they have since lost to Adelaide. The hope was that players like McMullin or Xavier O’Halloran would be able to fill the void, but unfortunately, that has yet to happen.

The one positive for the Giants is that Green is actually having a vastly improved season. He’s long been considered one of the best ball-winners in the AFL, but in 2025, he has translated that into efficient ball use.

Last year, he was ranked 160th for ball use, a measure he has improved to 30th in the competition through the opening 10 rounds of the season.

However, he is winning far more uncontested possessions than usual, with his contested possession rate of 46 per cent this season the lowest of his career.

Kieren Briggs could come under fire after already being threatened with losing his place this season. Picture: Phil Hillyard

It’s the inverse problem for ruckman Kieren Briggs, who has struggled for form this season. Last year he was among the top 100 rated players in the game according to Champion Data, but a finger injury to Jake Riccardi reportedly saved him from being dropped for the Sydney Derby. Now he could face that fate again after being dominated at stoppages by Luke Jackson.

The Giants are currently desperately leaning on their solid start to the season. They and West Coast are the only two teams in the AFL to lose four of their past five matches, and as much as Kingsley says he’s “not concerned”, he’d be wanting a response as soon as possible.

Thankfully for Kingsley, their next three matches are against teams below them on the ladder. It’s a chance to bounce back and send a statement that even with injuries, the Giants are a team to be feared.

But if they can’t get the next three weeks right, particularly with teams like Walyalup, Carlton and Narrm (Melbourne) slowly rediscovering their best form, there’s only so long GWS can get away with their sub-par centre bounce and midfield performances before it begins to define their season.

Originally published as Giants’ AFL season on the brink as Adam Kingsley attempts to fix underperforming midfield