‘It was the right move’: Callan Ward has no regrets ahead of 200th Giants game

Premiership glory has eluded Callan Ward in his first 200 games as a Giant, but he has no regrets having made the move from the Western Bulldogs.

Callan Ward has come a long way in his time at the Giants. Picture: Phil Hillyard

Milestone man Callan Ward came to the GWS Giants in search of premiership glory and while it may have eluded him through his first 200 games in Sydney’s west, he has no regrets having made the move north.

Ward, 32, began his career with the Western Bulldogs and joined the Giants as one of their inaugural co-captains in 2012.

More than 11 years later, he’s preparing to run out against North Melbourne on Sunday and become the first man to play 200 games for the club.

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Ward said his desire to win premierships motivated the move to GWS, but ironically, had he stayed at the Bulldogs, he may have played in that side’s drought-breaking 2016 grand final win.

Injury forced Ward to miss the Giants’ only grand final appearance to date – a heavy loss to Richmond in 2019 – but reflecting on his career, Ward said he had no regrets moving to Sydney’s west.

“It was the right move,” he said on Friday.

“Obviously. people ask about the premierships and we haven’t won one, but that’s what we’ll keep striving to do.

“One of the main reasons I came here was because I thought we could win premierships and we haven’t done that yet, but we’ve won plenty of finals and I’ve enjoyed my time here.”

Callan Ward is a proud Giant. Picture: Phil Hillyard

Ward said he had faith in the playing group to recover from a turbulent start to the 2022 season and challenge for premierships in the years to come.

The Giants have won only three of their first 11 matches this season but have already shown signs of improvement under interim coach Mark McVeigh, who replaced Leon Cameron in May.

“We have a list that’s played a lot of football now and we’ve got a lot of young guys with plenty of talent,” Ward said.

“With the right attitude and mindset, which I think they’ve got, I think our list is in a great spot.

“We haven’t played that well this year and our win-loss ratio isn’t great, but at the same time we’ve got some great people in this football club and we’ve built a great culture.

“With a few changes here and there I think we’ll go a long way.”

Ward with his family ahead of his 200th game for the Giants. Picture: Phil Hillyard

Having shaken off concussion symptoms over the bye round, Ward said he was honoured to be entering the history books this weekend as the Giants’ first 200-game player.

“It’s massive for me, my family, my mates and people that have been there the whole way,” he said.

“It’s been a long journey and it’s been one that’s been tough at times.

“There’s been plenty of ups and downs, but it’s been a journey that I’ve really enjoyed.

“As a person and as a player I’ve come a long way in that 10 years and I think we’ve continued to evolve and grow as a football club.

“We’re turning into that really good powerhouse football club that we’ll always strive to be.”

Originally published as ‘It was the right move’: Callan Ward has no regrets ahead of 200th Giants game