Pass or fail? I guess it’s very black and white that way, but in sport, and in this instance a season of AFL, there really isn’t too much grey area in this matter.
So, back to the original answer options – pass or fail? And the question – how would you rate the 2015 season for the Greater Western Sydney Giants?
With their humiliating loss to the city’s other team on Saturday, it became virtually assured that the Giants’ 2015 finals campaign was over. No post-season for the Orange men, which is what all teams and their supporters hope for at the start of the season. But does that mean it’s a fail for the Giants?
Certainly looking purely at statistics it’s impossible not to give the year a pass mark and rate the season a big success.
With still two winnable games against Carlton and Melbourne to come, the club has already notched 10 wins from 20 games. They have gone from two wins in their inaugural season, to one in 2013 then six in 2014. Major tick.
But with their improvement in 2015 – particularly early when they held down a spot not only in the top eight but the top four at one point – came expectations, and most suddenly believed that this was the year when their young talent, and their perfect blend of experience with the likes of Ryan Griffen, Shane Mumford, Callan Ward, and Heath Shaw, would propel the Giants to September football for the first time.
And they remained in the eight until Round 17, when injuries and perhaps a little fatigue started to take its toll.
For me the biggest hiccup for the Giants came in Round 11 when the season of their best and most significant and influential player, ruckman Shane Mumford, came to an end due to an ankle injury.
The club was 7-4 at the time, and Mumford had been instrumental in many of those winning performances. He left a huge hole, and one unable to be filled, and in the nine games since the Giants have only managed wins against the Gold Coast, Essendon and St Kilda.
Add to that the season-ending knee injury to key midfielder Dylan Shiel in Round 15, and injuries which have seen skipper Phil Davis miss six of the past nine matches, and it’s clear the Giants have struggled to cover such major gaps.
But away from those – and all sides do get injuries – while GWS have made giants strides in many areas, they are still essentially a group of very talented kids, who can use all the experience they can get.
Seasons, and finals appearances, can be set up in the first half of the year, but it’s the back half where seasons are made. That is the time where it gets tough on bodies and minds, and some of the young Giants have not surprisingly struggled a bit in that area.
Saturday’s thrashing was a bit out of character, and coach Leon Cameron admitted the performance took them back “three of four steps”, suggesting the performance was like the Giants of “a few years ago”. But it can happen with a young group in the late rounds.
So, back to the question of pass or fail.
From me, it is a pass.
At the start of the year we expected the Giants to improve again, but realistically not many thought they could take the steps big enough to make the finals. I didn’t. I thought about 8-10 wins would be a definite pass mark, and another stepping stone towards the finals perhaps next year or certainly in 2017.
They have achieved the 10 wins with potentially one or even two more to come.
While all our expectations rose after their 6-2 start, I think in the end reality set in, and they will finish around where we expected. Just outside the eight, but close enough to indicate they are ready to be on the inside come finals in the coming years.
bart
Guest
No i am not implying RL will be over taken by the AFL any time soon in Sydney, but i am implying the NRL crowds are pretty well let us say ... not very exciting. I
josh
Guest
bart if you're implying that AFL in Sydney is on the cusp of taking over I hate to break it to you - it's not even close (or looking likely).
Don Freo
Guest
I know...on the shoulders of an East Freo defender!
bart
Guest
There is your problem Don ;) Gero has the best statue in Perth.
Don Freo
Guest
Gero? Yuck. He's public enemy number one (even though I liked him). I'm an East Freo boy. Big Bob Johnson and Jimmy Sewell.
bart
Guest
He is no John Gerovich that's for sure :)
bart
Guest
Yep every club needs Palmer types
bart
Guest
Poor mans Shaun Macmanus :), but i agree every side needs a couple
Don Freo
Guest
Don't blame him for Barlow's injury. It was pure accident. Rhys blames himself enough...more than everyone else can. It could have been the first ever debut year Brownlow...but not Rhys' fault.
Don Freo
Guest
He's still kicking regular 2,3 and 4 goals a game. It is his tenacity that creates those chances. If you don't want him to be what he isn't, you'll appreciate him for what he is. His injuries have hurt him but from an early age he was pure energy around a club, an absolute leader and just loved by everyone. He is club culture personified. There are many better players there but if clubs don't have Rhys Palmer types, they may as well change their names to Carlton or Brisbane.
bart
Guest
Sorry Don, but Rhys is a very very bad kick for goal and he also took Barlow out and Harvey had to go, one of the worst AFL coaches ever to go around, the Dockers are much better without either of them.
Don Freo
Guest
Well Bart, if you are stuck watching rugby...there is a price to pay. Watching fat guys falling over. Standing up, running two metres and falling over again.
Don Freo
Guest
You haven't mentioned the two stars...Palmer and Coniglio. It's funny watching GWS. A whole team in orange but Rhys is still wearing purple in my mind. Rhys leaving is why Mark Harvey had to go.
Don Freo
Guest
It's a fail for your mob this year then.
bart
Guest
@ Axle, I have had free tickets offered to me, free tickets ( passes) for AFL games, unless i am interested i don't go. I am yet to meet someone who gets a free ticket is uninterested yet still goes.
Axle an the Guru
Guest
See your point Bart, but the reason I ask as if we knew the answer then we could get a true gauge as to how many people went because they wanted too as opposed to how many went because they had free entry with nothing better to do???
bart
Guest
@ Axle, i reckon there probably were. But we all know the situation with every sport, the NRL gave away 180,000 in 2012 i think. Are free tickets really free Axle ?, is there such a thing as a free lunch Axle ?.
cm
Guest
Not really. The NRL, especially in Sydney, has never kicked on in the same way as the afl for a variety of reasons. The numbers have never been as big. So no I wouldn't expect that. I would expect if there were only a couple of teams in Sydney, as opposed to nine within which there are only a few real longstanding rivalries, then the crowds would be a lot bigger. The soccer has that and sells out straight away. At any rate saying they SHOULD be the biggest in the NRL is to assume that it's just the same as other parts of the country. Sydney is a different beast.
Axle an the Guru
Guest
Do you know if any tickets were giveaways for GWS vs SYD Bart,as we all know what the AFL/GWS situation is with free tickets in WS?
bart
Guest
@ CM, we all make our way through this life we best we can, football clubs are no different, GWS does the best it can. I would say that NSW football has benefitted far more than what it has lost due to GWS, the Riverina and ACT in particular.