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Greater Western Sydney heading towards a Giant season

22nd March, 2015
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22nd March, 2015
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As the 2015 season – Greater Western Sydney’s fourth since birth – is about to begin, it’s not quite time to trot out the old Elvis classic It’s Now or Never, but it’s rapidly heading towards D-Day for the Giants.

It’s certainly not time to pack them up and railroad the Orange people out of Sydney if they fail to reach the finals or get beaten badly once or twice during the year – nobody is expecting miracles – but I did read with great interest during last week the comments of GWS chairman Tony Shepherd.

At the club’s season launch, Shepherd outlined the goals for the Giants, both on and off the park, and in terms of football.

“Make no mistake, we want to play finals football and will be disappointed if we don’t achieve this in the next two years,” he declared.

“By 2018 we are hopefully contending for a premiership.”

Foolish, outlandish, headline grabbing comments or realistic?

It’s exactly what all supporters and members of the Giants wanted Shepherd to say, but as to how close to the mark it is … well we’ll all know a lot more by September.

Forget about the 2018 season, Giants fans have endured enough of the tough times – times they knew they would have to endure before reaching the good times. They naturally want, no, they need a massive step to be taken again this season.

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Don’t forget that when they first entered the competition, many commentators believed that with the concessions they had, and were to receive, the Giants would be winning flags in five seasons.

Those supporters who jumped on board back then would no doubt be delighted with the six wins last season, particularly the one over the Swans, a marked improvement on the one from 2013, but now it’s time to take another step, a step into the finals.

Certainly – albeit before a footy has been seriously bounced in the real season – the signs have been good that the Giants can improve on their six-win, 16th ladder position in 2014.

I know practice matches – aka NAB Challenge games – mean little, but the signs I’ve seen on the park have been extremely positive. Two sound wins against weakened opponents, the Gold Coast and then Essendon, before running into their crosstown rivals the Swans in Canberra on Sunday.

And there was so much to like about that performance. A six-point loss to the grand finalists and the way they played was probably more significant than the other two wins.

This Giants side suddenly looks so much more polished, so much more experienced and so much more capable of matching it physically with even the top teams.

While early on they went with kids, veterans at the tail ends of their careers, and an NRL recruit, with experience now in the legs and heads of their blueblood youngsters, the club have added some class in former Western Bulldogs skipper Ryan Griffen. Time will tell, but he could prove to be the most significant recruit in the club’s short history.

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Sure it may have cost a number one draft pick, in Tom Boyd, in a blockbuster deal, but I feel it was a great trade for the club and one they needed to make. I’m not saying you couldn’t use a Boyd in your forward line, but with Jeremy Cameron looking like he’s back ‘on’ and hopefully Jon Patton (surely he will get some luck with injuries in 2015) back by mid-season, it was worth trading Boyd, particularly when they were able to secure such quality as Griffen.

And won’t ruckman Shane Mumford enjoy having someone like Griffen at this feet?

But wait there’s more, the signing of Joel Patfull from the Brisbane Lions will add some valuable grunt to halfback line. Like Griffen he’s already looked to have made a very smooth transition into the Giants’ team.

All this, plus, as I said, all the senior football experience their kids now own – many with between 40 and 60 senior games – and there is no reason why the Giants can’t be competitive in every game they play this year, regardless of the opposition.

Finals? Who knows. Some might think it’s still a stretch, but footy can be a funny game, and with a good run of injuries, wins in the games they should be winning, getting their share of the 50-50 games, and possibly jagging a few upsets, who knows indeed, come September they might have snuck into the eight.

The Giants have again been given a perfect opportunity to get off to a flyer. They meet St Kilda first up, followed by Melbourne, then the Swans at the SCG, then at home to the Gold Coast.

Four games, which now look like: two wins, a potential upset, and one of those 50-50 games. Whether it’s a 2-2 start, a 3-1 start or even a 4-0 start, I think we are finally going to see some of what we have been promised for so long – a competitive GWS side, pushing for a finals berth.

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