GWS Giants - the dark horse of season 2023?

[Dry Rot]

I commend you all to read an interesting behind the scenes article about the Giants' new coach, assistant coaches (including Monty) and approach.

On the shoulders of Giants: Inside the return of the 'Orange Tsunami'
Riley Beveridge goes behind the curtain at GWS, where new coach Adam Kingsley has quickly left his mark on a 'family club' he wants to be raw and relentless in its quest for finals

https://www.afl.com.au/news/873380/on-the-shoulders-of-giants-inside-the-return-of-the-orange-tsunami-

They have a lot of talent - can Kingsley mould them into a finals side in 2023?

[Jasper]

Thank you Dry Rot. Ive done one full pass of it and Im intending to go back for another run at it.
Riley Beverage did an outstanding job and my first thoughts are that Kingsley has been rehearsing this sort of theme over his coaching career.

[Dogs 24/7]

I'm going to have to find some time to read this.

[1eyedog]

God I hate this mob I feel dirty reading anything about them.

They need to work so hard on marketing and selling positivity given the challenges faced with their geography but I don't buy any of it. Losing Taranto and Hopper short term will be catastrophic, they could potentially cover one and may even benefit if they had a deeper midfield (i.e. us and Dunkley) but losing both of them leaves a big hole on the inside.

Their genuinely good players are aging (Whitfield nearing 30, Ward nearly 33, Davis nearing 33, Haynes 31), and while they have good young players in Taylor and Tom Green and start power in Grub and Kelly they have holes at both ends of the ground.

They lack a quality second tall down back (Himmelberg has adapted ok but is suspect imo) and lack a quality key forward (Hogan is washy and probably cooked and Riccardi is taking time to come on, but is young). They also lack a quality ruck and a good medium / small forward outside of Greene. I think they're a 6-8 team at best.

They struggle on the road and can't win at the G and long may that trend continue.

[Bulldog Revolution]

Interesting to get some insights

Kingsley has done the apprenticeship, and now its time to see if that experience has readied him - they sound well organised and structured, but can the players translate it into action?

They still have a fair bit of talent, but do they have enough class in the middle to get on top?

Can Coniglio*, Kelly, Whitfield get back to their best form, because those three can make a big difference, but you feel like they need Green and others to really improve in the centre square?

*Coniglio was better last year and 2nd in their BnF so presumably pretty good

I like Isaac Cumming as a set up kicker.

[bornadog]

God I hate this mob I feel dirty reading anything about them.

They need to work so hard on marketing and selling positivity given the challenges faced with their geography but I don't buy any of it. Losing Taranto and Hopper short term will be catastrophic, they could potentially cover one and may even benefit if they had a deeper midfield (i.e. us and Dunkley) but losing both of them leaves a big hole on the inside.

Their genuinely good players are aging (Whitfield nearing 30, Ward nearly 33, Davis nearing 33, Haynes 31), and while they have good young players in Taylor and Tom Green and start power in Grub and Kelly they have holes at both ends of the ground.

They lack a quality second tall down back (Himmelberg has adapted ok but is suspect imo) and lack a quality key forward (Hogan is washy and probably cooked and Riccardi is taking time to come on, but is young). They also lack a quality ruck and a good medium / small forward outside of Greene. I think they're a 6-8 team at best.

They struggle on the road and can't win at the G and long may that trend continue.

Agree with all this except I think you are generous - they will be lucky to make finals.

[jazzadogs]

Really good article, offers some good insight into their setup and the philosophy of Kingsley. Not surprising that it comes from the AFL website, as theyre desperate to have GWS improve again.

Given the amount of money invested in Kelly, Coniglio, Whitfield, Greene they really need them to be their four elite players. Tom Green, Sam Taylor, Cumming, Perryman, Himmelberg and Jesse Hogan (who had his best season in a long time) are all very capable of lifting them to another level, and there is a layer of largely untapped youth beneath that (Cadman, Jones, Callaghan, Ash, Bedford).

There's no reason they can't sneak a few unexpected wins and push for the bottom half of the eight.

[1eyedog]

Agree with all this except I think you are generous - they will be lucky to make finals.

Yes best 6-8 and worst anywhere. They've got enough talent to win half of their games but I agree I think they miss the 8 again.

[Axe Man]

Apparently James Hird left GWS in October and nobody noticed until now...

[1eyedog]

He's like that crazy Uncle at Christmas.

[GVGjr]

He's like that crazy Uncle at Christmas.

The photo they posted of him gave that impression. I wonder what is next for James?

[Bulldog Joe]

The photo they posted of him gave that impression. I wonder what is next for James?

Not sure anyone on here actually cares.

[jeemak]

This is a massive marketing pure play from the AFL/ GWS gaslighting engine room.

Possibly they get a sugar hit, possibly they fail. Possibly after Gill's gone and the AFL board turns over further they'll be tossed out of the competition.

I admire them for making the GF in 2019, I really do. That was a mammoth effort. But it hasn't steeled a supporter base, it was the end of a four or so year hit for the stars that didn't quite make it and the chance is gone. The only question now is for how long we can keep this affordability charade up given the AFL is likely to be eating shit sandwiches in a cost of living crisis that will last for the next couple of years, as target demographics struggle to pay mortgages and bills.

Our management across the inception years of expansion, and eventual premiership and post premiership years thereafter will go down as some of the best in Australian sporting history. We were fairly and squarely ****ed, and the AFL couldn't have timed it better (in theory) to **** us.

The seeing off of expansion is as great an achievement as the 2016 premiership in itself.

[Happy Days]

This is a massive marketing pure play from the AFL/ GWS gaslighting engine room.

Possibly they get a sugar hit, possibly they fail. Possibly after Gill's gone and the AFL board turns over further they'll be tossed out of the competition.

I admire them for making the GF in 2019, I really do. That was a mammoth effort. But it hasn't steeled a supporter base, it was the end of a four or so year hit for the stars that didn't quite make it and the chance is gone. The only question now is for how long we can keep this affordability charade up given the AFL is likely to be eating shit sandwiches in a cost of living crisis that will last for the next couple of years, as target demographics struggle to pay mortgages and bills.

Our management across the inception years of expansion, and eventual premiership and post premiership years thereafter will go down as some of the best in Australian sporting history. We were fairly and squarely ****ed, and the AFL couldn't have timed it better (in theory) to **** us.

The seeing off of expansion is as great an achievement as the 2016 premiership in itself.

Cannot believe it took so long for someone to say it.

[josie]

This is a massive marketing pure play from the AFL/ GWS gaslighting engine room.

Possibly they get a sugar hit, possibly they fail. Possibly after Gill's gone and the AFL board turns over further they'll be tossed out of the competition.

I admire them for making the GF in 2019, I really do. That was a mammoth effort. But it hasn't steeled a supporter base, it was the end of a four or so year hit for the stars that didn't quite make it and the chance is gone. The only question now is for how long we can keep this affordability charade up given the AFL is likely to be eating shit sandwiches in a cost of living crisis that will last for the next couple of years, as target demographics struggle to pay mortgages and bills.

Our management across the inception years of expansion, and eventual premiership and post premiership years thereafter will go down as some of the best in Australian sporting history. We were fairly and squarely ****ed, and the AFL couldn't have timed it better (in theory) to **** us.

The seeing off of expansion is as great an achievement as the 2016 premiership in itself.

Agree with last paragraph- well said Jeemak.

Personally I cannot admire a club that is a sickly AFL confection with a few remaining players that I still find extremely unlikeable (Grub, if you believe reports from back then …Hide from Drug Testers Twitfield), some that are still playing for other clubs (sour lolly face Cameron), an ex player seemingly as unsavoury in character as he was unlikeable on field (smiling Hymie, who much to my delight shirked a contested ball in 2016 prelim and was called out for doing so by one of commentators-still one of my fave schaudenfraude moments), who have had an association with IMO some AFL embarrassing clowns (ex EFC), surely the worst jumper and club song ever etc. etc.

Funnily enough one of the few players of theirs I could stomach (only just) back in the 2016 prelim days was Lobb. Hoping he kicks a bag when we play against them and that Grub puts in a stinker. A 50+ point drubbing by us will go down well. I hope they fold but very much doubt the AFL will let that happen to their love child. Should have been a Tassie Team instead of the plastics. They’d still lose loads of money but at least it would be for a location that would have been deserving and one that would have a heart.

[bulldogtragic]

I think we can call them a real club now.

Heart breaking PF loss at home in 2016
PF loss in 2017
Narrow semi loss in 2018
Absolutely pantsed in the 2019 GF
Heart breaking loss in the 2023 PF

Lost a lot of good players along the way. Swung the coaching changes. Sure they?re never be a real footy area where they are, not big in numbers of fans, but the newspapers on the seats at their shitty show stadium at the 2016 PF had daily Tele papers with the headline ?it?s our time? - like they?ve done their time by then. Like it was preordained. I think they now get despite all the high draft picks that winning PFs and GFs are really hard and there is so much suffering along the way. I now think they really do get that now, so whilst I?ll never really love them (although I liked watching them this year) I think the team of AFEL Focus Groups is no more. They?ve paid the price of suffering for their jumper so to me they?re now legit.

And every time we play them we smash them!

[EasternWest]

The other thing about them is though they lose very good players they do have other very good players that stay loyal. So something's going right there.

[Sedat]

I think we can call them a real club now.

Heart breaking PF loss at home in 2016
PF loss in 2017
Narrow semi loss in 2018
Absolutely pantsed in the 2019 GF
Heart breaking loss in the 2023 PF

Lost a lot of good players along the way. Swung the coaching changes. Sure they?re never be a real footy area where they are, not big in numbers of fans, but the newspapers on the seats at their shitty show stadium at the 2016 PF had daily Tele papers with the headline ?it?s our time? - like they?ve done their time by then. Like it was preordained. I think they now get despite all the high draft picks that winning PFs and GFs are really hard and there is so much suffering along the way. I now think they really do get that now, so whilst I?ll never really love them (although I liked watching them this year) I think the team of AFEL Focus Groups is no more. They?ve paid the price of suffering for their jumper so to me they?re now legit.

And every time we play them we smash them!
I was only half-joking when I said in the game day thread from that Ballarat game disaster that we now play more like a focus group team and they play more like a blood and boots team. I lost the hate for them a few years ago to be honest - we should be worrying about our own backyard to be frank.

I reckon the AFEL have actually let the Western Sydney region wither on the vine specifically in relation to expanding the game. They threw a bunch of draft picks and Issie Folau at them 12 years ago and haven't done much to expand the code ever since to be honest. Now it could be argued that it was foolhardy (and definitely arrogant in the extreme) to think that the Western Sydney region will ever embrace the AFEL to begin with, but honestly the execs couldn't give a fark about the region now because the additional TV rights money goes directly to their bonuses and not to growing the game at the grass roots.

[Grantysghost]

I was only half-joking when I said in the game day thread from that Ballarat game disaster that we now play more like a focus group team and they play more like a blood and boots team. I lost the hate for them a few years ago to be honest - we should be worrying about our own backyard to be frank.

I reckon the AFEL have actually let the Western Sydney region wither on the vine specifically in relation to expanding the game. They threw a bunch of draft picks and Issie Folau at them 12 years ago and haven't done much to expand the code ever since to be honest. Now it could be argued that it was foolhardy (and definitely arrogant in the extreme) to think that the Western Sydney region will ever embrace the AFEL to begin with, but honestly the execs couldn't give a fark about the region now because the additional TV rights money goes directly to their bonuses and not to growing the game at the grass roots.

Good - wind them up Sedat.

[JanLorMill]

I think we can call them a real club now
Not sure about that. I know the filth fans are feral but if gws had any real fans they might have drown out some of the umpire bias Friday and at least cried foul loudly afterwards.

[SonofScray]

Hopefully they fold at some point.

[EasternWest]

Hopefully they fold at some point.

Succinct. Promote this man.