Former No.1 draft pick Aaron Cadman set to sign a new long-term deal to stay at GWS Giants

The Giants are planning for Aaron Cadman to be their future talisman up forward, with coach Adam Kingsley excited to see him become “the man” inside 50 for GWS.

Aaron Cadman during the GWS Giants first day of pre season training for the 1-4 year players on November 27, 2023. Photo by Phil Hillyard (Image Supplied for Editorial Use only - **NO ON SALES** - ©Phil Hillyard )

Aaron Cadman is set to sign a new deal with the Giants in the coming months as coach Adam Kingsley talked up the potential of the former No.1 Draft pick.

Cadman found himself out of the Giants’ best 22 in their run to the preliminary final last season but has already spoken of his desire to play a larger role in the future.

And the 19-year-old received a huge endorsement from his coach with the two parties very close to finalising terms on a new long-term deal.

“He’s a massive part of our future,” Kingsley said. “He’s a big key forward who can win the ball on the ground and in the air.

“I think he complements who we have up there at the moment, and I see him in years to come taking over and being the man.

“We’re keen to lock him away quickly and quite excited about what he’s going to be as a Giants player.”

Cadman (R) is primed to play a big role in Adam Kingsley’s side going forward. Picture: Phil Hillyard

Cadman is one of several players looking to force their way into contention for the season opener against Collingwood.

The Giants’ stability was a huge asset in 2023 and they’re set to have a similar look next year, besides Harry Himmelberg’s fresh blonde hair — “I’m not gonna sit here and say I’m a huge fan, it’s a bit different but each to their own,” Kingsley said.

But the second-year coach has been impressed by the work ethic of his fringe players as they look to atone for their preliminary final heartache.

Harry Himmelberg’s new look hasn’t quite appealed to his coach. Picture: Phil Hillyard

“The guys who weren’t necessarily a staple part of the team towards the back end of the season have come back hungry and they’re in good shape,” Kingsley said.

“They’ll put pressure on the guys who finished in the team last year. As we know, year-to-year teams change so I’m sure we’ll have a couple of new faces in our team to start the season.

“We won’t train over the summer focusing on that game, it’s always centred around the season as a whole. But it’s a massive game to open the season.

“It’s a wonderful initiative that the AFL has come up with opening the season here and in Queensland and a big game on Saturday night against the reigning premiers is a good as we could have asked for.”

One of the first hurdles for the Giants this pre-season was reviewing their one-point loss to the Pies in September.

The squad gathered on Monday for over an hour as they dissected key moments from the match. While it became a hard watch at times, Kingsley is confident that it will motivate the group for 2024.

Adam Kingsley is confident his side has the tools to bounce back from their preliminary final loss. Picture: Phil Hillyard

“The key messaging was our game stacks up against the best which was Collingwood last year,” Kingsley said. “We’re confident that the way we play is the right way, particularly in finals. We just didn’t maximise a few moments during that game.

“We brought in five young guys who we’ll bring up to speed … but everyone else in the squad has played that way for 12 months now. So, we feel like we’ve got a good grounding of how we want to play. It’s now just a matter of doing it slightly better in all phases.

“I think everyone’s quite excited, including the older more experienced guys who led the way last year, and they’re ready to try and improve again and take us further into the finals.

“Although we were pleased with our season last year as a whole, we were disappointed with the way that it finished. But there’s nothing that we can do about that now, we’ve got to get to work and try and recreate that next year.”