Last season saw great improvement from Greater Western Sydney, as Leon Cameron stamped his authority on the club.
With the squad now starting to show some experience, 2015 could prove to be another positive step towards becoming a top AFL team.
1. The 50-game mark
Crucially for GWS this season they have a number of players who have gone past the 50-game milestone or are close to doing so. Typically speaking AFL footballers find consistency around the 50-game mark and by the time they have made it to 100 they are ready to make an impact on finals football or in the big moments.
Devon Smith, Adam Treloar, Toby Greene and Jeremy Cameron make up that group that have just passed 50 games and appear ready to take on the big games and big moments. With Stephen Coniglio, Adam Tomlinson and Will-Hoskin Elliott all set to pass the milestone in the first half of the season, the young Giants are ready to make giant-sized steps.
2. Defensive experience
When GWS played their first ever match less than three years ago the back six comprised Adam Kennedy, Phil Davis, Tom Bugg, Jack Hombsch, Tim Mohr and Hoskin-Elliott. That six had less than 20 games of experience and over the first two years that weak defensive group was one of the real battles for GWS.
Over the past two seasons the focus on defence has been easily recognisable to the point that going into 2015 they potentially have a top five defence. With a prospective group that includes Joel Patfull, Davis and Heath Shaw as veteran heads alongside rapidly developing youngsters Nick Haynes, Mohr, Curtly Hampton and Kennedy, the back six of GWS is no longer a weakness and could well be the strength.
3. Jeremy Cameron as a lone wolf for half a year
In 2013 Cameron proved that he was a player that had the temperament and skill set to operate as the number one option in a forward line. He went perilously close to an unbelievable Coleman Medal while playing for the bottom side.
In 2014, with a forward line that included Jon Patton, Tom Boyd and Jon Giles at various times, Cameron struggled to replicate his 2013 form. Now with Boyd departed and Patton a minimum half season away from playing, Cameron gets his chance to again be the sole target in the Giants forward line. He has already shown that he thrives under those circumstance and could be a pivotal piece of the GWS season.
4. Full season experience
One of the real question marks that has to be raised on this still young GWS team is how they can go over a full 22-game season. Sixty-six games into their history, captain Callan Ward is the game’s leader at 61. This indicates that GWS has battled to get its list through full seasons.
Some of this was undoubtedly around list management as the club took a cautious approach in its foundation years with not overloading a team brimming with teenagers. While this has likely helped to an extent, the negative of this is that we don’t know how young GWS players can perform over a 22-game season.
Furthermore, the experience previously mentioned has been hurt by this decision to manage their players in their early years. With the list at their disposal, like Gold Coast last year, an attempt towards finals is a possibility. Where they may fall down is late in the year as the long season begins to take its toll on bodies that are not used to 22 games of intense AFL football.
5. Mumford-Griffen connection
A lot has been made of the high profile signing of Ryan Griffen in the off-season, but few have taken the analysis beyond Griffen becoming a GWS player. Griffen was able to create one of the most dangerous clearance duos in the league with former teammate ruckman Will Minson, and Griffen’s step to elite midfielder was courtesy of improved clearance play.
Now at GWS, Griffen has one of the best tap ruckmen in the league to work off. Shane Mumford has been a tower of strength for the Giants despite not having a real strong clearance player to work with. Now with Griffen at his feet, he stands to profit. For GWS this off-season has to be about getting a connection between these two, because it potentially stands to be one of the best clearance teams in the league.
6. A fast start
Like a lot of the lower rung clubs from last year, the early season draw is friendly to GWS. The AFL has clearly prioritised teams from similar areas going head to head early in the year and GWS must exploit this luxury they have. As their fellow franchise club in Gold Coast did last year, a fast start is crucial to give hope towards an unlikely finals appearance.
They face St Kilda, Melbourne and Gold Coast in the opening month of the year knowing these are three winnable games. With Sydney, Hawthorn and West Coast in Perth to come the key for GWS is maximising and winning those three games against the likely betting odds.
7. Leon Cameron as the next Alastair Clarkson
There are a lot of similarities in Cameron when compared to Clarkson. Clearly the big difference right now is coaching accolades, though Clarkson has been fortunate to have a talented group at the height of their football powers for close to a decade. Cameron has been somewhat hamstrung in terms of his playing list.
However, with a more developed list and some strong experience at his disposal, 2015 could be the year where Cameron makes a move towards replicating one of the most innovative coaches in the AFL. Like Clarkson, Cameron has proven to be an outstanding coach of young talent and clearly the respect he is starting to receive from the GWS group is testament to his own hard work.
The way in which Cameron speaks though, the language he uses and the way in which he holds himself, suggests this is a coach that wants to be ahead of the game and coaching curve. With a capable list, opposition coaches may begin to sweat on match-ups with Cameron.
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