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
GWS has oodles of talent on every line, defensive weapons and offensive threats.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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
Raimond
Roar Guru
I don't understand why you're still fretting about this when your team won the game.
Raimond
Roar Guru
I don't think anything is certain this season, given the evenness at the top we saw last year. Things have already started going wrong for the Giants, with Coniglio missing the first six weeks. I will say though that if this team hits its straps in the finals, we could see something akin to what Essendon did in 2000.
Raimond
Roar Guru
The best part about that Kohli piece wasn't the Trump comparison, it was mentioning that he had scored fewer runs in the series than Mitch Marsh! Epic trolling.
dee
Guest
Young Toby Green needs to learn to control his temper as was shown in games 2 & 3 of the pre season matches.
Peppsy
Roar Guru
Can't see both Melbourne and St kilda making finals feels like there's no aay they can both go through without something ending their seasons. Be it an injury or a soul crushing loss, one of them won't make it.
Swannies
Guest
Great work Cam...Swans and Giants the best two teams by a country mile and will dominate finals for the next 3-4 years. Will be surprised if they don't play in the GF this year.
Cameron Rose
Expert
Thanks Franky. The other thing is, I start these in Feb, and my mind can change a bit during the pre-season! Re-doing it now, I would have Port a bit lower, North a bit higher.
Franky
Guest
Nice work Cam. It's always tough making predictions at this time of year. Personally, I think North and Freo will do a bit better than you've predicted, and one of Richmond, Collingwood or Port Adelaide will finish bottom 4. Only 1 sleep to go now. Then we can look forward to the media over-reaction on Monday morning...
Pumping Dougie
Roar Guru
Yeah I didn't like that aspect of Hawthorn either. (I disagree with Rick over his cats - I thought they displayed good sportsmanship most of the time.) I didn't mind for instance, Mumford getting in Boyd's face last year - that's all good theatre and good testing of each other's character. It's the cheap shots and standing over someone as if you're tough when they're on the ground and vulnerable, etc. that I don't respect or admire. I agree its good to have a pantomime villain. Viv Richards and Richard Hadlee were awesome in this role. Kohli's aggression is terrific and he is an elite talent. But he has damaged his reputation in this series with Trump-like alternative facts and Sheedy-like distraction comments and pouting like a spoilt, privileged Raj at journalists who dare question him. But for all that, when people or teams that conduct themselves like this lose - especially to an individual or team displaying class of character, it makes the victory all that sweeter. I hope GWS cop a beating in the finals this year - if they make it!
Tom m
Guest
I agree Cam, I think its a good attitude to have. Served Hawthorn pretty well.
Doc Disnick
Roar Guru
Totally agree Cam — never hurt the Hawks being thuggish, nor certain elements of the Cats and Lions in their prime.
Cameron Rose
Expert
Good call on GWS being the hunted, they are all good reasons. I actually like that the Giants are a bit thuggish, and don't mind giving it out. They are the Virat Kohli of the AFL, and I like the way Kohli goes about it. Give me that in-your-face attitude every day, over something timid.
Cameron Rose
Expert
Thanks Tom, very kind words. They look hard to stop, don't they.
Cameron Rose
Expert
Thanks Rick. Yeah, the Giants really did bully the Swans that day, and that's the thing with them, they are tough inside and skillful outside. It's an incredibly potent combination.
Pumping Dougie
Roar Guru
Three top 7 picks squeezed onto the bench and another (Taranto) doesn't even make the side. This team is dripping with talent. Which is a risk in itself, i.e. can the young ones handle the big head? Their anonymity in Sydney will help, but they certainly don't come across as a modest, humble bunch. They were super impressive against the Swans in their first final last year, but there was plenty of sniping, undisciplined acts from them in the prelim final. They have talent, yes, but do they have character? I have a sense they will become the hunted more than the Doggies this year, based on a number of reasons: (1) they are the fancied premiership threats; (2) they are still the young, brash, cocky, upstarts of the league (who provocative veteran characters like Shaw and Stevie J fit right in with), who last year caught everyone by surprise with their rapid rise; (3) they are getting plaudits ahead of their time and acting above their station; (4) they try to stand-over other players. I hope they underwhelm and fall out of the eight and Tom Boyd kicks 8 against them and Griffin has another super-quiet performance. And I hope somebody teaches Lachie Whitfield the art of truly being tough at the footy instead of cheap round-arms at somebody's head who is crouching on the ground in front of him. I hope they stop karate-kicking opponents when they are in the act of marking and I hope they keep mouthing-off in packs only to find themselves behind on the scoreboard again. Woof, woof.
Tom m
Guest
Congrats Cam on a wonderful preview series once again. Whilst I disagree with a couple of teams in your ladder, these articles have been a joy to read and a highlight of my working days. GWS to win their first GF this year and usher in a new period of dominance is something we both can agree on.
Doc Disnick
Roar Guru
Been a bit busy to get involved in this series Cam, but I've enjoyed the read nonetheless. I was at the Swans vs Giants First Qualifying Final last year — it was scary how they bullied the Swans inside; especially considering this is one of the Swans major strengths. They really should have beaten the Dogs too; it was sheer tenacity from the Dogs which won the day. The Giants will have learnt greatly from it. My tip last year in your series was for the Giants to make a prelim minimum. Well at least I got that right, despite picking the Tiges to finish top 4...a mistake I won't make again this year. I don't agree with regards to Cameron though. Unlike Scott in 2011 who had a beautifully aged Rolls Royce gifted to him, Cameron has a Nissan GTR. A weapon indeed, but it's no Bugatti Veyron...yet! He'll need to fine tune his star-studded contemporaries, because one thing is for sure: Beverage will ramp up in 2017; along with Clarko, Horse and Scott! GO CATS!
Cameron Rose
Expert
Nothing wrong with finding different ways of saying the same thing, IHP.
I hate pies
Guest
Yes their skill by hand and foot is amazing..they're also good at handballing and kicking.