In our GWS season preview, I decided to make a bit of a prediction. When I say “a bit”, I mean I put it out there that Tom Green could very well be the next incarnation of Greg Williams.
Aaaaand, it cued the expected laughter and derision from the Carlton and Sydney fans almost immediately.
I mean, I get it. A dual Brownlow Medallist with two clubs and a Norm Smith Medallist, as well… the bar is set pretty high.
Well, three games into the 2023 season, and the laughter has ceased, or at the very least become quieter. Tom Green is relishing the increased responsibility of leading the GWS midfield. The absence of both Tim Taranto and Jacob Hopper left a Tom Green-sized void in the Giants’ on-ball division, and the 22-year-old has grabbed the presenting opportunity with both hands. In truth, his presence had simply made Hopper redundant at the club, whilst he is now absorbing some of Taranto’s duties in the middle, as well.
Some would call it downsizing. Others would call it upgrading.
When I made the prediction, I was thinking that by the end of the 2023 season, we’d be seeing a version of Green that would remind people of Williams and the way he won the footy in the contest and farmed it out. I did not expect we’d see a close-to-complete product by this stage of the year, but here we are. Green is averaging 32.7 disposals (third in the league) and 6.7 clearances per game (11th in the league). What I anticipated would be a slow rise up the AFL ranks in terms of midfielders has instead been a rapid ascension.
And he has plenty of time to get even better.
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