GWS Giants 2024: The alarming fall off for All Australian captain Toby Greene revealed

Less than 12 months ago, Toby Greene was handed the All Australian captaincy after a career-best year. This year he has struggled to fire a shot. So what has gone wrong?

MELBOURNE , AUSTRALIA. April 20 , 2024. AFL Round 6. Carlton vs GWS Giants at Marvel Stadium. Toby Greene leads the Giants onto Marvel Stadium . Pic: Michael Klein

It’s not easy being (Toby) Greene.

The Giants’ superstar has well and truly earned his reputation as one of the best players in the AFL. He was named the captain of last year’s All-Australian side on the back of a career-high 66-goal season. It was always going to be hard living up to those standards, and naturally, his high ceiling means there are always higher expectations.

While the Giants have had a fast start to the year thanks to their firing forward line, Greene has only kicked nine goals in seven games and was goalless in their two losses to Carlton and Sydney.

It has led to some questions surrounding his output.

“Josh Kelly has kicked more goals than Toby Greene and he’s playing on-ball,” David King said on SEN. “Brent Daniels has missed some footy and has kicked more goals than Greene.

“I think they need the All-Australian captain to wind back the clock a fraction. We’re into the season and we need to start seeing his brilliance again.”

Greene was kept goalless in the Giants’ two losses this year. Picture: Mark Metcalfe/AFL Photos/via Getty Images

By the numbers, it’s evident that Greene has had a slow start to 2024.

Last year, Greene generated the fourth-most AFL player rating points for ball use. This season, he has dropped to 195th in that category. He is also yet to win any of his nine offensive one-on-one contests.

Greene is also well down on fundamental areas of his game. His shot at goal accuracy has dropped from 54 per cent to 32 per cent, while his goals, contested possessions and forward 50 marks have all come down a level.

The major positive for the Giants is that so far, they haven’t felt the impact. And it’s a sentiment shared by his teammates that it represents a progression in their attack that they don’t always have to rely on their captain in the big moments.

“I think that’s the best thing, we’ve got an even spread versus last year,” Lachie Ash said. “We relied upon probably our better players to sort of get the job done.

“Toby is playing his role exactly the way we want him to. Maybe it hasn’t fallen his way a few times, but it’ll come. He’s a quality player and we know that when there’s moments to be had, he’ll always stand up for us.

“Everyone has stepped up and is playing good footy. I think Riccardi, Cadman, Browny, all have kicked a few goals. You see the rise in players around Toby because the opposition puts a lot of time and work into him, so I’m not concerned at all.”

Jesse Hogan has been the main man for the Giants up front this season. Picture: Mark Metcalfe/AFL Photos/via Getty Images

The Giants already have six players with 10+ goals this season, including Jesse Hogan who is right in the Coleman Medal hunt with 24 majors to his name. Only the Swans equal that output of prolific goal-kickers this season, while the Western Bulldogs are the next best with five players with 10+ goals.

And the orange tsunami is clearly taking the approach of if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Hogan is their main target in the forward line, while Greene’s targets have dropped from 16 per cent last year to 11 per cent in 2024 on the back of more success for Jake Riccardi and Aaron Cadman.

“I think when you have a player like Toby Greene, you have such high expectations and you want to see him have 20 and kick four goals every week,” Josh Kelly said.

“I think our forward line for most of the year is playing really strongly. Sometimes Toby’s getting on the end of them and sometimes it’s other players.”

“The reason Jesse gets targeted mostly is because he’s in a really good spot,” Ash added. “He’s so smart and he just puts himself in the right space that he just draws the footy.

“For us, it’s making sure we’re not too focused on Jesse. We probably went through that with Toby a couple of years ago, because they’re the best players and always in the best spots.

“The young guys are learning off those two superstars of the competition. We just need to be smart going inside 50 and use those free targets. Jesse and Toby, their influence might go down, but our team impact might go up.”

The Giants are content to let Greene play his role while younger players like Riccardi (L) and Cadman (R) cash in on their career-best form. Picture: Phil Hillyard

Although there might be external concerns around Greene’s role in the side, the playing group will always back him in. And there are numbers certainly in his favour.

This season, he’s still ranked as elite in his position for disposals, marks, inside 50s, goal assists, score involvements and ground ball gets.

He also had a five-goal haul against Gold Coast in Gather Round that proved the difference in the battle of the two expansion sides.

Throw in the intangible impact he makes when he leads his team onto the field each week, and the Giants know that his best form is just around the corner.

“I think it’s the little things around how he attacks the contest,” Kelly said. “His ferocity and his want to impact the game.

“Ultimately, it’s his leadership – pre-game, at breaks, half-time – and his awareness of how a game is going. He’s got a really good handle on all that.

“I think it’s those little things that culminate to the type of player he is. His impact extends far greater than having 20 touches and kicking four goals.”

Originally published as GWS Giants 2024: The alarming fall off for All Australian captain Toby Greene revealed