How GWS beat Gold Coast in the race for relevancy, step by Giant step

For the past five and a half years the GWS Giants and Gold Coast Suns have alternated back and forth in the race to become relevant in the AFL. Now, however, it looks like time to call a winner – and by no small margin, either.

The Giants and Suns have both had access to a similar amount of young talent but their respective positions at the moment could not be more different.

Despite pundits saying their access to many high draft picks would mean “guaranteed premierships” for both clubs, we’re seeing that this is anything but the case.

The Suns looked like they would be the first of these two sides to crack into the finals race, and may well have in 2014 had it not been for Gary Ablett’s shoulder injury late in that year. But that proved to be a false dawn, and they have been at a very low ebb ever since.

While their list certainly has plenty of young talent on it they have really struggled to develop that talent into quality footballers. They have found some stars – Tom J Lynch and Aaron Hall being the best examples of those currently on the field – but injuries or struggles with form have stifled most of the rest.

In addition to that they’ve not had much success adding in fresh talent from outside the club. While they’ve regularly brought in new recruits, you could argue that none of them have really had the impact they’re looking for, failing to produce the desired results.

Nick Malceski would be the prime example – after an All-Australian season in 2014 he shifted to the Suns and looked like he would help drive them up the ladder. Instead his own form since joining the side has been average at best, and so has that of the team.

The exception obviously is Ablett, who has been the Suns’ one unqualified success in terms of recruiting from outside the draft. He has brought the club its first Brownlow medal and will go down in history as the best player of their foundation years by a significant margin.

However even Ablett can’t do it all and the years are starting to take a toll on him. His 2016 form has been below the level of quality we’ve come to expect from him and at nearly 32 years of age there’s no telling whether or not he will ever return to the elite level we’ve seen in the past.

Most concerning of all though is that the Suns just don’t feel like they’ve established a great culture. Without being inside the four walls it’s impossible to say why this has happened, though the decision to make untried Guy McKenna their inaugural senior coach is one they may be regretting.

There were in 2015 numerous incidents that made us doubt the professionalism of the playing list, and the persistent rumours that a number of young stars – in particular Jaeger O’Meara and Dion Prestia – are looking to move on at the end of the year really doesn’t give the impression of a football club where everyone is on the same page.

Finally, the injury curse that has persisted on the Gold Coast for more than a year now is a serious cause for concern. There is only so long that this can go on and still be considered bad luck.

But while the Suns are struggling, and serious questions about their future are being posed both in the media and, I suspect, behind closed doors at AFL House, the GWS Giants are absolutely flying, and performing just as the AFL dreamed they would.

While many have long seen the Giants as a side certain to become successful due to their stockpile of young talent, arguably the most important factor in their rise from a stumbling expansion side to a likely finalist and potential powerhouse has been their regular and successful recruitment of mature players.

These players have served two purposes: they’ve been able to offer significant contribution to the team in terms of their on-field form, and perhaps more importantly, they’ve helped to build a competitive culture of success at GWS that doesn’t seem to exist at Gold Coast.

This goes back as far as GWS’ first and most important staffing decision, the naming of the legendary Kevin Sheedy as their inaugural senior coach. A man who knows how to be successful, Sheedy’s role in establishing the foundation of the Giants’ culture should never be underestimated.

The Giants, however, knew that merely installing an experienced coach wouldn’t be enough and that bringing some on-field mentors into the fold would be a crucial part of the process. Towards this goal they brought in the likes of Chad Cornes, James MacDonald, Dean Brogan and Luke Power on single-year contracts.

These were players who had all experienced some measure of success in their careers but perhaps more importantly embodied the competitive spirit that the Giants have sought to establish among their playing group.

Those veteran recruits were joined by some higher-profile signings, players who had some experience in the league already but were yet to come into the prime of their careers – Callan Ward, Phil Davis, Tom Scully and Rhys Palmer.

Ward made his mark almost immediately and in terms of listed players has had the biggest impact of any in the early years of the club. He kicked the team’s first ever goal, won the first best and fairest, and by the end of the year will likely become the first to play 100 games for the club.

Knowing they had more young talent on their books than they could hope to retain, or play all at once, the Giants have intelligently remained active in the trade and free agent periods ever since, always looking for opportunities to supplement their young talent with elite, experienced players.

In 2013 they made two deals that are just looking better and better as time goes on, landing Shane Mumford from Sydney for the low price of pick 35 in the draft, and Heath Shaw from Collingwood in return for wantaway midfielder Taylor Adams.

Mumford was effectively forced out of Sydney by the arrival of Lance Franklin, the unlucky player to make way in a salary cap squeeze, while Shaw was pushed out of Collingwood as part of Nathan Buckley’s dismantling of the ‘ratpack’.

Neither was hailed as a major acquisition at the time but both have gone on to play arguably career-best football at the Giants. Mumford won the best and fairest for the club in his first year there, and Shaw followed that up in 2015 by winning the best and fairest and being named All-Australian.

In the next season the Giants picked up Joel Patfull and Ryan Griffen, who again have both gone on to become highly valued members of the team. And last year they acquired Steve Johnson from the Cats whose impact so far this season has been significant.

In addition to the quality performances of those recruits, those earlier acquisitions are also really starting to pay off. Tom Scully has become unquestionably elite, Phil Davis is a very handy player, and Rhys Palmer goes alright without being great.

There’s a certain aura to these players – particularly Mumford, Shaw, and Johnson – that I think has come to define the Giants. They’ve all got a bit of that old-fashioned footballer about them, the kind who loves the contest, has extreme self-confidence, knows how to use their physicality to dominate the opposition, and above all, loves to win. Those are traits that no football team with aspirations to be successful can do without.

That spirit has been passed on to the host of talented youngsters who over the years have come into the GWS side, and in my view, it’s what will make the Giants a successful side in 2016 and beyond.

This afternoon the Giants will host the Suns at Spotless Stadium and while I’m a little worried that writing this piece will put the mozz on them, all indications from the recent form of both clubs is that it will be a comfortable win for the home side.

The Suns are lagging a long, long way behind in the race for relevancy, and who knows if they will ever get there. The Giants on the other hand are sprinting past that milestone with a sense of drive and hunger that teams dream of creating, their eyes firmly fixed on what looks to be a very bright future.