Giants star Tom Green ruled out for the season after horror match simulation injury
Updated . First published
GWS has confirmed the worst with Tom Green ruled out for the season after rupturing his ACL in an intra-club match simulation match.
The midfielder was sent for scans after the match last week, with the club initially "hoping for the best".
However that hasn't come to fruition, with the ACL rupture confirmed on Monday.
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The injury came from Green changing direction while evading a tackle. He went down in pain, holding the injured knee.
It is intra-club season around the league as teams begin to ramp up ahead of March, but with that comes their first exposure to full contact tackling since the end of the season.
Tom Green injured at training. News Corp
Clubs are always fearful of injuries during this time, and Green was one of those casualties.
He wasn't the only injury, though, with Toby Bedford sidelined by a moderate hamstring strain. The timeline of recovery for that is four to six weeks.
Finn Callaghan has also injured his hip flexor in pre-season and will miss two warm-up matches against the Pies and Swans.
Sam Taylor injured his hamstring in the Origin match too and is expected to be out for the opening rounds of the season.
The Giants traded for Melbourne midfielder Clayton Oliver last off-season, who was expected to partner with Green, but now looms as his replacement for the 2026 season.
Clayton Oliver at GWS training. GWS Giants Instagram
Oliver has had a tough few seasons at the Demons, battling off-field and mental health concerns, but will now need to play a key role for GWS.
The club will also be without star midfielder Josh Kelly for much of the 2026 season, as he works his way back from significant hip surgery. Veteran midfielder Callan Ward retired at the end of 2025 following his own ACL injury.
The Giants will clearly need to get creative and spin the magnets in the midfield, given the talent unavailable.
Green, 25, has played 115 games for the Giants since being selected with pick 10 in the 2019 draft via the club's academy.
He averaged 29.7 disposals, 8.5 clearances and 3.6 tackles per game for GWS in 2025 as their prime on-baller, winning the club's best and fairest.
Green made the 44-man All-Australian squad in 2023 and 2025.
