Giants coach Kevin Sheedy and Israel Folau take the stage during the Greater Western Sydney unveiling of its club name and colours at the Sydney Showgrounds, Sydney. Slattery Images
The news that Adelaide Crows defender Phil Davis has decided not to re-sign with the Crows, and wants to play for newcomers Greater Western Sydney in 2012, has been met with a frenzy of mistruths, exaggerations and over-reactionary panic.
To put the record straight from the start, Davis has not signed with the Giants. He isn’t allowed to. Under the AFL rules, Davis remains a contracted player at Adelaide until the conclusion of the 2011 season.
Had he chosen to, he could have re-signed with Adelaide while still under contract, but can’t sign elsewhere. But he has announced that he won’t be signing a new contract with the Crows.
But he won’t be signing with the Giants until after Adelaide’s 2011 season is over. Until then, it is far from a done deal.
Of course there are rumours and speculation of other AFL players also said to be linked to the Giants. But none of them will sign up until their current contracts have expired. They’re not allowed to. The suggestions that we’re hearing in the media and elsewhere that the Giants have already signed up players from other clubs is nothing more than blatant lies.
The only player that GWS signed up while still contracted elsewhere is Israel Folau. Folau signed with the Giants midway through last year, but continued to honour his NRL commitments with the Broncos until the end of the season.
We’re hearing whining from Adelaide, and no doubt will from other clubs in the near future, about the Giants devastating their clubs. But in the fair dinkum department, if your club gets devastated by losing one player, it wasn’t much of a list to start with.
And the Giants aren’t the first new club that will bring in experienced players. It seems that some in the Festival State have short memories. It was only 20 years ago that the Crows started up.
And when they did, Tony McGuinness joined the Crows from Footscray. Brisbane captain Mark Mickan also defected to Adelaide, as did Danny Hughes from Melbourne, Bruce Lindner from Geelong and Grantley Fielke from Collingwood.
Gold Coast signed up the likes of Ablett, Bock and Rischitelli. West Coast signed up Ross Glendinning, John Annear, Dean Turner, Phil Narkle and others. Brisbane had former captains Mark Williams and Jim Edmond and Brownlow medallist Brad Hardie. Fremantle had the likes of Ben Allan, Peter Mann and Dale Kickett.
And of course there’s reasons for bringing in experienced players. The Giants’ young list that are playing in the NEAFL this year have plenty of talent, but to put a side like that into the AFL will see them as cannon fodder.
The Giants won’t be world beaters from day one. In their early seasons, they’ll lose a lot more than they’ll win. But they will need to sign some experienced, quality players if they hope to be competitive. And where will such players come from, if not from other AFL clubs?
And with the Giants being unable to sign players until their current club’s season is over, their current club has the first opportunity to re-sign them.
I work a desk job in a non sports-related industry. The money’s not bad, and my employer treats me well. But if a new competitor offered me double my current salary to work for them, I’d quit my current job and work there instead. I’d be mad not to. You’d do the same.
Why shouldn’t players go where their job prospects are best? You can’t criticise them for that. Especially considering how little loyalty is shown to players by clubs. Players can be delisted on a whim, offered as trade bait or arbitrarily dropped. Sport is professional, it’s business; and players will treat it as such.
But there’s two other attractions besides money why a player would want to come to the Giants. There’s also the chance to be a part of history, being forever in the record books as being there from the start of a new club. And there’s the chance to play a part in growing the game in a new area of Australia which isn’t traditionally a stronghold of Australian football.
I have an interest, I am a Giants’ supporter and a foundation member. Of course I want to see the Giants field the best team they can, and win as many games as possible. But one would be kidding themselves to think the Giants will instantly be a team of world-beaters.
The mischief-makers are proclaiming the Giants to be gifted a string of undefeated premierships; but the reality is that we hope the Giants can sign enough quality players to be competitive. No club has made the finals in their debut season since the first ever competition in 1897, and that’s unlikely to change next year.
If Phil Davis ends up signing for the Giants, it will be a handy signing. And hopefully there will be some more quality pick-ups over the off-season. For any player who decides to come, it’s a challenge; but a rewarding one.
Whoever they are, wherever they come from, when they put on the charcoal and orange guernsey, they are Giants. And we’ll be in the stands, cheering them on as they have a red hot go.
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