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If Greater Western Sydney and Gold Coast are yet to play finals, but GWS can win that race between the expansion sides this year.
Last year the Giants finished 11th with an 11-11 record, and a percentage almost smack on 100. They were in the eight all the way up until Round 16, but ran out of steam over the latter half of the season as injuries and fatigue took their toll.
See the rest of Cam’s preview series here.
In fact, from being 7-3 after Round 10, they only won four games for the rest of the season, with those wins coming over St Kilda, Gold Coast, Essendon and Carlton, teams that filled four of the bottom five spots on the ladder.
Let’s look at the players that GWS will be relying on to take them up the ladder to knock on the door for finals.
| B: | Heath Shaw | Phil Davis | Zac Williams | |
| HB: | Ryan Griffen | Joel Patfull | Aidan Corr | |
| C: | Lachie Whitfield | Dylan Shiel | Tom Scully | |
| HF: | Toby Greene | Jeremy Cameron | Devon Smith | |
| F: | Steve Johnson | Jonathon Patton | Rhys Palmer | |
| Foll: | Shane Mumford | Stephen Coniglio | Callan Ward | |
| Int: | Adam Tomlinson | Josh Kelly | Jack Steele | Jacob Hopper |
| Em: | Dawson Simpson | Matt Buntine | Nick Haynes |
GWS has a wealth of experience in the back half, particularly if Ryan Griffen floats back there as he did in the second half of last year. He was underwhelming in his first year at the Giants, playing an uncontested game, but choosing to handball instead of using his penetrating kick. Too often, he provided a whole lot of nothing.
Phil Davis is entering his seventh season, but has only played 76 games due to a variety of illness and injury. In the last three years he’s played 12, 11 and 13 matches, and that lack of continuity costs both him and the Giants.
Joel Patfull brought experience, resilience and grit to the side after transferring across from the Bulldogs, while Heath Shaw received his first All-Australian jumper as the number one rebounder in the competition. It’s constantly a surprise how little defensive attention he receives from opposition sides.
GWS has some depth in their younger players for the other places in the back six.
Zac Williams has the inside running as the small-medium rebounding player after playing some consistent football once relieved of the subs vest last season. He’ll have competition from Matt Buntine and Nathan Wilson.
Aidan Corr and Nick Haynes will compete for the third tall position. Having these options to put pressure on spots, as well as cover injury and form, is what helps drive a side up the ladder.
Callan Ward and Shane Mumford lead the midfield in their indomitable way. Ward plays the game the way we’d all like to think we would if we had any level of ability, hard as concrete and neatly skilled.
Mumford is the type of ruckman we all want in our side, a physical beast that craves body contact and wants to hurt people.
Dylan Shiel has the latent talent that excites the purists, and started racking up huge numbers in games last year. He wins his own ball, explodes out of stoppages, breaks lines on the outside, dazzles with his movement through traffic and has the skills to finish off.
It wasn’t a coincidence that GWS fell away once Shiel and Mumford were out of the side with injury, and if they both play 22 games it will keep the Giants in finals contention for a long way.
The support cast for Ward and Shiel is where it starts to get a bit shaky. There are a lot of names and high draft picks there, but how much actual quality in terms of delivering results on an AFL field?
Tom Scully is a decent player that will have a 200 game career, while never reaching great heights, and Toby Greene will always find lots of football but turn it over half the time.
Stephen Coniglio, Lachie Whitfield and Josh Kelly were taken in the top two in consecutive drafts between 2011 and 2013, but none have become stars, or even taken many steps towards that status. Whitfield is probably the pick of this trio, but is too sloppy by foot for a purely outside player.
Will Jack Steele and Jacob Hopper go past these players and add some yeast to the GWS midfield? Steele is another with shaky skills from what we’ve seen early in his career, but strikes as the type that will improve as he goes on, while Hopper is highly the regarded academy product that is expected to have an impact.
The GWS forward-line will be without Cam McCarthy in 2016, for reasons that have been well documented.
Jeremy Cameron is the star of the show inside fifty. He can kick goals from anywhere but needs to find more of the ball. Is it his work-rate, or does he just have a low football IQ and can’t get to where the ball is going to be?
Jon Patton has played 32 games in four seasons thanks to two knee reconstructions, and will have pressure on him to perform after a full pre-season. Likely to be stationed deep, will the man mountain have the mobility that the modern game requires?
Devon Smith is a quality mid-forward, but the gap between his best games and poorest is still too vast. Rhys Palmer has sneakily become one of the most effective forward pockets in the game.
But the big question about the Giants forward-line is what Stevie J can bring to the table. He’s starting to look slower than molasses in January, but is creative enough that if he doesn’t get opposition respect he’ll get his touches, both setting up goals and kicking them.
With Johnson, Smith and Palmer, GWS have the makings of dangerous small-medium trio in the forward half.
The injuries to key Giants have meant they have given a lot of their list exposure at the top level, so they do have some young depth on there.
GWS have played their best football when running the ball with young legs and slick movement, but Mumford, Ward and Shiel are going to be critical to any success they’ll have. They’ll be looking for their second tier mids to make the transition to top level.
They haven’t been handed the easiest draw in terms of teams they’ll play twice, but their breaks between games has a friendly feel to it.
It’s not the end of the world if they don’t play finals this year, but they should be in the conversation deep into the shadows of the season.
Predicted ladder spread: sixth – 10th
Predicted finish: eighth
Best and fairest: Dylan Shiel
Leading goalkicker: Jeremy Cameron
All-Australian potential: Dylan Shiel, Callan Ward, Shane Mumford, Heath Shaw, Jeremy Cameron
Rising Star candidates: Jacob Hopper, Jack Steele
Current ladder
8. GWS
9. Collingwood
10. Adelaide
11. North Melbourne
12. Melbourne
13. Gold Coast
14. Port Adelaide
15. St Kilda
16. Brisbane
17. Carlton
18. Essendon