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2017 AFL preview series: Greater Western Sydney Giants - 1st

21st March, 2017
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Steve Johns and Tim Greene, Alastair's favourite players. (AAP Image/Dean Lewins)
Expert
21st March, 2017
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It’s already beyond cliché to have Greater Western Sydney on top of pre-season predictions ladders, but like all clichés, it’s just so hard to resist.

The Giants only lost two of their last nine games in 2016, and those losses were by one point to West Coast on literally the last kick of the day, and by six points to the Bulldogs in that memorable preliminary final.

In both matches, GWS were three goals to the good at stages in the last term.

Plenty has been written about how hard it’s going to be to stop the Giants juggernaut from this point on, much of it on this site. Let’s take a look.

B Heath Shaw Phil Davis Nathan Wilson
HB Zac Williams Nick Haynes Adam Tomlinson
C Tom Scully Callan Ward Josh Kelly
HF Toby Greene Jeremy Cameron Devon Smith
F Brett Deledio Jonathon Patton Steve Johnson
Foll Shane Mumford Stephen Coniglio Dylan Shiel
Int Rory Lobb Ryan Griffen Jacob Hopper Lachie Whitfield

Emergencies: Matt Buntine, Aidan Corr, Adam Kennedy

Heath Shaw GWS Giants Greater Western Sydney Giants AFL 2016 tall

GWS has oodles of talent on every line, defensive weapons and offensive threats.

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The Giants’ ability to run the ball with pace and skill by hand and foot is their trademark. The ball travels faster than any one man can, and they love wrong-footing their opponents with criss-cross patterns and finding a player in open space.

Heath Shaw is the master of the chip-and-charge – the 15-20m kick to a teammate before running past for the handball, to drive the ball down the line or pull off the long switch. Zac Williams and Nathan Wilson are cut from the same cloth, with more speed, while Williams has a few more strings to his bow.

Opposition sides can clamp down on one of these rebounders, but not all.

Phil Davis is the number one key defender, and goes about his business fuss-free. Nick Haynes and Adam Tomlinson provide the tall support, with Tomlinson in particular finally growing into himself after five years on the list, thanks to a move down back in 2016.

The midfield and running half-forwards are where GWS have an abundance of talent.

Dylan Shiel, Callan Ward, Stephen Coniglio and Tom Scully all found a place in the top 40 of The Roar AFL top 50 that we ran through last week, with Toby Greene ranked 50, and Brett Deledio and ruckman Shane Mumford on the fringes.

Ward is the hardest of all, the most consistent, and a good user, Shiel is explosive and skilful, Coniglio the most well-rounded of the group, while Scully has become one of the top few wingmen in the competition.

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Toby Greene was a revelation at half-forward last season, kicking buckets of goals and still finding plenty of the ball, while Brett Deledio was a match-winner in a long career at Richmond, and arguably the most important member of the Tigers during his time there.

Toby Greene GWS Giants Greater Western Sydney Giants AFL 2016

If this group isn’t enough, the Giants also have Josh Kelly, who good judges will tell you could be the best of the lot thanks to his inside/outside capabilities, Devon Smith who would be a top four midfielder at many clubs but is eighth banana at best here and forced to play mainly forward, plus youngsters like highly rated prospects Jacob Hopper, Matthew Kennedy and Tim Taranto.

Oh yes, and then there are veterans like three-time premiership Cat Steve Johnson, and multiple best and fairest winner and All-Australian Ryan Griffen. Lachie Whitfield goes alright too, and will force his way in once he returns from his drug suspension.

GWS are so well stocked, that it was no sweat to lose Jack Steele to St Kilda, and they certainly covered Adam Treloar’s move to Collingwood last season with ease. Out go the surplus mids and mid-forwards, and in come the draft picks that bring more elite young talent to the club, in an endless loop.

Key forwards? Yeah, they’ve got those too.

Jeremy Cameron doesn’t quite get enough of the footy, but kicks plenty of goals and can make something out of nothing. He’s a poor man’s Buddy Franklin in many ways. Jonathon Patton is ready for a genuine breakout year playing deep forward after bags of six, five and four to finish the season in three of his last four matches.

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Rory Lobb is vying with Josh Jenkins and Kurt Tippett to be the best in the league in the key forward / supporting ruck role that is so important in today’s game.

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Outside of the squad named above, are either the very young, or the experienced jobbers like Matt de Boer, Tim Mohr, Joel Patfull and Tendai Mzungu.

The Giants have threats in the air, threats on the ground, threats in close, threats out wide – but do they have enough threats to their best 22 in the way the Dogs have over the last two seasons; the competition for spots that makes everyone hungry?

They will have if their youngest players start demanding spots.

Coach Leon Cameron’s role is purely psychological with this group. In regards to the talent at his disposal, he needs to do no more than sit and steer, like Luke Nolen on Black Caviar or Hugh Bowman on Winx.

He may well roll out instructions like only kicking with their opposite foot against teams like Carlton and Brisbane.

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But Cameron will need to ensure motivation stays high through the long season, to ensure a top-four spot that looks theirs for the taking. It’s one thing to climb up the ladder quickly as they did last year, rising from 11th to fourth, but it’s another to stay there under all weight of expectation to do so. Having a minimal fan-base will help in that regard.

If GWS are allowed to bring their best, they simply won’t be stopped; when they are at their best, they are scoring points from clearances (2016 ranked 1) and turnovers (ranked 3), the two most critical facets of the game.

The last two teams to beat the Giants, West Coast and the Western Bulldogs, both ranked in the top four for defending each of these scoring channels. It’s not that you have to score from these avenues yourself, but you must stop them from doing it. So you need to win the ball on the inside, and kick it well on the outside. Easy!

Yes, GWS are the team most likely to go all the way in 2017. As Ryan Buckland will tell you, it’s their world, and we’re just living in it.

Predicted ladder spread: 1st-4th

Predicted finish: 1st

Best and fairest: Callan Ward

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Leading goalkicker: Jeremy Cameron

All-Australian potential: Everyone in the best 22

Rising Star candidates: Jacob Hopper, Matthew Kennedy, Will Setterfield, Tim Taranto

Cam Rose’s AFL preview series ladder

1st – GWS
2nd – Sydney
3rd – Western Bulldogs
4th – Geelong
5th – West Coast
6th – Melbourne
7th – Adelaide
8th – St Kilda
9th – Hawthorn
10th – Richmond
11th – Collingwood
12th – Gold Coast
13th – Port Adelaide
14th – Fremantle
15th – Essendon
16th – North Melbourne
17th – Carlton
18th – Brisbane

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