Why looming Giants exodus should have AFL concerned
While Sydney’s off-field dramas envelope the competition, the AFL would have to have half an eye on crosstown rivals GWS and the exodus of veterans occurring at their expansion club.
The Giants have confirmed they will move on from 2024 Coleman Medallist Jesse Hogan, 2026 club leading goal kicker Jake Stringer and starting ruckman Kieren Briggs, all of whom are likely to play for Victorian clubs next season.
Big decision: Has Toby Greene played his final game for GWS? Getty Images
Then there is captain Toby Greene, who is yet to make an official call but is reportedly leaning towards finishing his career in Victoria, and likely joining Geelong.
Losing three star goal kickers and your starting ruckman in one summer would be brutal for the Giants, as it appears likely they will spend the next few seasons out of premiership contention.
The Giants finished 12th this season, but were the team cruelled most by injuries across the league. They were able to knock off Brisbane, Fremantle, Melbourne and Geelong, but failed against lower ranked teams.
They will be hoping former No.1 draft pick Aaron Cadman will be able to step up in 2027 and truly become the leader of that forward line, alongside other rising youngsters Max Gruzewski and Darcy Jones.
But it is a big ask to pin your hopes on three young players finding their way at AFL level. For the first time since their early days in the competition, GWS will likely enter 2027 not favoured to be in the finals mix.
From 2016 when the core of impressive young talent on their list saw them shoot up the ladder and fall narrowly short of a premiership, to 2019’s grand final appearance, to making the prelim in 2023, and then their semi-final shootout with eventual premiers Brisbane a year later, it has been a solid decade of contention for the Giants.
The departure of Greene, if it happens, a player who has been there from the start, captained the club for a number of years and became synonymous with the orange and charcoal jumper, will likely signal the end of that era.
Lachie Whitfield will be 33 next season, Stephen Coniglio 33 and a shadow of his former self, Josh Kelly 32 and coming off a full year out of the game – they will be the final vestiges of the club’s early days.
Star midfielder Tom Green will return from a torn ACL, and re-signing the 25-year-old and keeping him away from Tassie looms as their next biggest task.
If he departs, the AFL will have every right to be concerned about the direction of the Giants. Their ability to retain key talent if they drop away competitively will inevitably suffer.
GWS head of football Jason McCartney, however, is confident the club will remain in the mix, even if that quartet moves on.
“We feel like there’s a lot to work with on our list, but we’ve had a lot of injuries, there’s a lot of work to do in the off-season,” McCartney told SEN on Monday.
“It’s definitely not a rebuild. There is enough talent within our group to work with, and it was shown this year even with multiple top-line players out, that we were still capable of beating the best sides in the competition.
“When you beat Hawthorn, Melbourne, Fremantle and Geelong and then slip up against clubs down near the bottom end, you finish 12th, it’s not good enough.
“Aaron Cadman has done a really good job and Max Gruzewski is coming through as a young forward who we really wanted to keep.”
The Giants now enter what will be a busy off-season. They won’t get much in return for the departing quartet, with Hogan and Stringer delisted and Greene and Briggs unrestricted free agents.
Briggs is tipped to join Richmond, while Hogan has been linked to Gold Coast, Carlton and Collingwood.
Stringer is reportedly keen on a move to the Magpies, but they remain unsure on pursuing the veteran forward.
