- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
There’s a good old saying in everyday life, “from little things, big things grow”.
A lot has been said about the GWS Giants and their inevitable, meteoric rise up the AFL ladder since they entered the competition in 2012.
In the space of five years they’ve gone from being a completely unrecognised side full of inexperienced and nervous teenagers, even in their own backyard, to potentially becoming the AFL’s next powerhouse team.
Last season, after the expected years of struggle that came with their entry into the big boys’ league, they qualified for the finals for the first time and fell agonisingly short of reaching the grand final. They lost to the Western Bulldogs in arguably one of the greatest matches played in modern AFL history.
One would have to wonder what certainly could have been had Steve Johnson not been so careless towards Josh Kennedy in the qualifying final win over the Sydney Swans a fortnight earlier and Callan Ward not been knocked out in the second quarter of the preliminary final against the Bulldogs.
Johnson’s absence due to suspension proved to be very costly, as did Ward sitting out two and a half quarters of the match against his old side due to concussion, with whom he was a part of two losing preliminary finals in 2009 and 2010.
Stevie J has since agreed to another season with the Giants, in what could be his last shot at a fourth premiership ring, having won a hat-trick of rings with the Geelong Cats in 2007, 2009 and 2011.
The lure of winning a fourth individual premiership ring, potentially being a part of the Giants’ first premiership side and the frustration of missing arguably the club’s most important match was what has convinced him to play on into season 2017.
Had he not missed the preliminary final due to suspension, then there’s every chance the Giants could have gone all the way and Johnson possibly bowed out of the game a winner, however, it was not to be.
Still, reaching the final four proved to be an exceptional result for a club which has continued to increase their win tally by five wins every season since winning only one game, against Melbourne, in the 2013 season.
They won six matches in 2014, eleven in 2015 and sixteen (plus one final) in 2016.
If the trend continues, then they could match the classes of Essendon and the Geelong Cats that won twenty-one regular season matches in 2000 and 2008 respectively.
The Bombers side that went on to win the flag in 2000 were so dominant that they lost just one match for the entire calendar year, against the Western Bulldogs in Round 21 of the premiership season (they also won the pre-season title that year).
Their premiership win came twelve months after they lost their preliminary final against Carlton in heartbreaking fashion, by one point, despite being hot favourites to progress to the grand final.
As punishment, then-coach Kevin Sheedy sent his losing preliminary final side to watch the grand final at the MCG as spectators, as they watched their conquerors eventually lose to the Kangaroos.
It was described by Joe Misiti as “the worst experience of his life” as the Bombers pondered what could have been. The rest, as they say, is history.
Similarly, the Giants could use their own heartbreaking preliminary final loss to the Bulldogs last September as motivation to go not only one, but two better in 2017.
Unlike the Essendon side of 1999 that was widely expected to reach the decider, for the Giants this was their first foray into finals football and the lessons learnt from that defeat will only spur them on in 2017.
Defender Heath Shaw went on record recently as saying that he did not watch the grand final on television, which the Bulldogs eventually won, only “checking the scores” for interest.
But there is no doubt that those who did would have pondered what possibly could have been.
With the addition of Brett Deledio from Richmond during the off-season, expectations for the club are at an all-time high, but whether Leon Cameron’s men can live up to all the hype remains to be seen.
Carlton entered the 2012 season as premiership favourites, but after winning five of their first six matches (one of which was a 67-point win over GWS in their first ever premiership match in Melbourne), the wheels fell off and they crashed to a 10th-place finish by season’s end, costing then-coach Brett Ratten his job.
Injuries played their part, but so too did a five-match suspension handed to then-captain Chris Judd for a chicken wing tackle on North Melbourne’s Leigh Adams midway through the season.
Still, the Blues won four of the five matches which Judd missed, with the only loss coming to the eventual premiers, the Sydney Swans, in Round 19.
Ultimately, a shock 12-point loss to the Gold Coast Suns in the penultimate round of the season proved fatal for Ratten.
Since then the Blues have dropped back to the lower rungs of the ladder but are in the midst of a slow and perhaps well-programmed rebuild under Brendon Bolton, following a highly anticipated but failed stint as coach by Mick Malthouse.
There was also a lot expected of Port Adelaide in 2015, but after they lost their first two matches of the season (albeit to quality opposition in Fremantle and the Sydney Swans), they never really got going and they eventually finished ninth.
Their cause in 2016 was not helped by having Paddy Ryder and Angus Monfries sidelined for the season after they were suspended for their parts in the controversial supplements program at their former club, Essendon, in 2012.
Now, entering season 2017, the Giants will be keen to avoid falling into the same trap Carlton and Port Adelaide did in those respective years.
While their season opener against the Adelaide Crows will be tough, it will be just as tough for the men from West Lakes, who were once again found wanting when they lost their semi-final against the Sydney Swans at the SCG last September.
It is a match the Giants will very likely start underdogs in, given they have only beaten the Crows once (in Sydney in 2015), but they need not panic if they drop their season opener in just under seven weeks’ time.
Last year, they went 2-2 in their first four matches, during which they were without full-forward Jeremy Cameron after he was suspended for a crude bump on the Brisbane Lions’ Rhys Mathieson in the final pre-season hit-out.
The biggest challenge facing them in the first half of the upcoming season will be the seven-week absence of Lachie Whitfield, who was banned for six months last November for evading a drugs test in May 2015.
Not only will be miss the season opener in the City of Churches, he will also miss crucial matches against the Sydney Swans, Western Bulldogs and potential improvers St Kilda towards the back end of his suspension.
While Whitfield’s absence will come as a major blow for the premiership favourites, it will give others the chance to shine, such as number two pick Tim Taranto and ex-Fremantle pair Matt de Boer and Tendai Mzungu.
Keeping key players such as Shane Mumford, Heath Shaw and Toby Greene, as well as co-captains Phil Davis and Callan Ward, injury-free for most of the season will also be a major challenge.
If the club is to ultimately achieve the goal of hoisting the holy grail for the first time at the MCG on Saturday, September 30, there are also some other goals that they may want to tick off on.
These include beating the Adelaide Crows and West Coast Eagles in Adelaide and Perth respectively for the first time, as well as knocking off Collingwood, one of two clubs (the other being the Eagles) the Giants are yet to beat in their existence.
They are also yet to conquer the Sydney Swans at the SCG; their shot at burying that hoodoo will come in Round 5 before they host the return derby at Spotless Stadium in Round 17.
For the second year running, the Giants only have one match at the MCG this year, against Richmond in Round 18. They (and to an extent the Gold Coast Suns) are yet to win at the home of football against a side other than Melbourne.
The fact that Leon Cameron’s men struggle to attract large crowds outside of New South Wales is primarily one reason why they have just the one game at the G, with their other three matches in Melbourne to be played at Etihad Stadium, as well as the final round clash against the Geelong Cats to be at Simonds Stadium.
The Giants again have three matches under the roof this season, including two Friday night matches against St Kilda and the Western Bulldogs in rounds seven and 21 respectively.
They will also be looking forward to the Round 6 match against the Bulldogs in Canberra, which will mark the sixth-year club’s debut under the Friday night lights.
Given the potential rivalry between the two clubs that could grow in the coming years, that match has the potential to sell out up to a month before it eventuates.
Staying consistent from week-to-week is by no means an easy feat, but is also crucial if the Giants are to prove themselves as premiership contenders in 2017.
While they did beat fellow top-four teams the Sydney Swans, Geelong Cats and Hawthorn last season, they also lost to two lowly clubs, Melbourne and Collingwood, with the latter being their heaviest defeat for the year (32 points).
It’s all ahead for the Giants in 2017. Can they live up to pre-season expectations and build on from their breakthrough 2016 season, or will they crash and burn like Carlton and Port Adelaide did in 2012 and 2015 respectively?
Who’s in your ultimate team? Pick the best team and compete with other fans for daily prizes on Draftstars. For the best odds on the game try out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Think. Is this a bet you really want to place? Set a deposit limit.