There is no other team in the league that has a sense of inevitability quite like GWS. I just always feel they’re going to win a flag, and it has been that way for a decade.
Of course, the club hasn’t quite been able to sit atop that mountain, and the one time they did reach the summit, the Tigers knocked them right back down pretty quickly.
Still, the Giants are a team that doesn’t stay down. I look at the differences between the way this club, and the way the Gold Coast Suns have travelled since their inception, and they couldn’t be more different. The Giants, 2022 aside, always seem to be in the window. They’re always a threat, and under Adam Kingsley, it took them just one off-season to re-establish themselves as an AFL power.
They’re actually quite a remarkable footy club.
But even remarkable footy clubs have to make hay while the sun shines, and with several players departing at the end of 2024, and just one big name incoming, do the Giants remain a team that will contend in 2025? Or are we seeing the first slip on that treacherous slope that leads to no man’s land? You know it? The place Essendon has been in for 15-odd years. Nice drive by, huh?
Toby Greene is now 31, as is Stephen Coniglio. Cal Ward is 34 – the foundations the club built around are getting on, and whilst the Giants have done a fantastic job in repeatedly replenishing their list, are they now starting to reach the point where the balance starts to tip from contender to making up the numbers?
2025 is going to be a massive year for this club. It may feel as though this club really is inevitable, but Thanos thought that about himself, as well, and it didn’t quite work out the way he wanted, did it?
It’s that time of year, already.
The break after Christmas and New Year is over and 2024 is well and truly in the rear-vision mirror. The holidays are finished for AFL players, and the hard stuff starts now. Yes, the teams had been training for well over a month prior to Christmas, but as we head into 2025, the stakes are raised, and the intensity increases.
This is where premierships are won and lost. This is where improvements are made and lists come together. This is where the kids show if they’re serious or not. New faces, new colours, old heads with renewed passion… so much feeds into the making of a contender. And as the days tick down toward the intra-club clashes, practice games, and eventually the real stuff, questions are raised about each team and how they’re going to perform in this new season.
And that’s where HB and The Mongrel come in.
We don’t do things by halves here, at The Mongrel Punt. When we do a season preview, we go all out to make sure it is the best, most comprehensive coverage you’ll receive. We pride ourselves on it. If you are going to read one season preview for your team, or any team, this series will provide it.
The way it works is as follows.
Each club has a minimum of 15 questions asked about the upcoming season, their coaches, their players, and their expectations. The answers are not glossed over. We dive deep on each and every one of them – some singular answers would normally be long enough for an entire column. The first five questions/answers are free for you to consume. The next 10-14 for each club are for our members, including a special appearance from Mrs Mongrel to throw her two cents in the mix.
Isn’t it a bit early for a season preview? Well, I suppose, but do you know how long it takes to write seven-to-nine thousand words? That’s 18 x 8,000… gets out the calculator… that’s 144,000 words. The average novel is about 85,000 words, so buckle the hell up with these previews; we’re going deeper than ever.
Also, if there are any issues that arise after the publication of the preview for any team, they will be covered in standalone articles to act as additions to this preview.
You will not read a deeper season preview than this – I guarantee it. This is where we start the run to the new season, and believe me – nobody does it better than The Mongrel.
And now we turn our attention to the Giants.
1 – DID THE GIANTS SELL THEIR SOUL TO ACQUIRE JAKE STRINGER?
That’s a bit dramatic there, HB. Settle yourself down.
Okay, I will… but they did take a bit of a gamble in what looks very much like a ‘win now’ type of trade. Not a Hail Mary type of move, but a risk, nonetheless.
In terms of actual costs, Stringer really cost the Giants bugger-all. A proven goal kicker, he joins a forward line already boasting the Coleman Medallist, a multi-time All-Australian, and an emerging number one pick from 2022.
Suffice to say, Stringer will not be asked to carry the biggest load in this forward set up, and that is a situation that might just suit him fine as he plays the back nine of his career.
At his best, Stringer is a threat to score on every attacking foray. He is a beast in the contest, agile for a bigger body, and able to either stand in tackles, or break them. Surprisingly quick off the mark, he can work through the middle, where he provides brute force at stoppages, and is coming off a 42-goal season. Only 20 players in the league managed that in 2024.
And yet, Essendon were pretty glad to see the back of him.
You see, as with most people, there are two vastly different sides to Jake Stringer. The upside is as described above. The downside is that he is also the bloke who brings “colourful identities” into the club environment, has a history of not putting the work in during the pre-season, and has actually got less-fit during seasons on several occasions.
In some ways, he is his own worst enemy. Imagine the career he could have had if he had possessed a maniacal drive to get the best out of his body?
The Giants offered the commitment of two years to Stringer – the deal that the Bombers refused to make – and now the impetus is on the player to hold up his end of the bargain.
GWS supporters I’ve spoken to are torn on the deal which, really, only cost the Giants a pittance. Some didn’t want him at the club, irrespective of the low outlay. However, others see him as a vital finals piece of a premiership puzzle.
As for Stringer, who knows how he sees this opportunity? Does he look at it as his last AFL payday? Does he now sit content, with two years of income guaranteed? Or is there a fire alight within him, stemming from joining a premiership contender and being able to contribute to something special?
GWS do not need 42 goals from Stringer in 2025. Anywhere around 30-35 would be great, particularly given the firepower they have at their disposal. However, the Giants are also in a situation where they don’t really have to tolerate anything but 100% commitment from their new recruit. They have players on the cusp of the best 23 (which we’ll get to) that can slot in and contribute immediately.
Having Stringer is a luxury, but his presence is not a necessity, for this club.
It makes me wonder – can this be a “best of both worlds” deal for Stringer and GWS?
Can the Giants provide the environment for the three-club player to rediscover the form that made him so lethal back in 2022?
And can Jake use the knowledge he has gained over the past couple of years to drive him in pursuit of a flag? Careers don’t last forever, and the lack of interest from everyone but the Giants may be the wake-up call he needs. He may now realise how close he came to being out of the league. Sometimes, that is the kind of jolt a person needs to get things in order.
Did GWS sell their soul in acquiring this flawed footballing genius?
No, not at all. This is a calculated risk to bring an immensely talented player into the club, with the belief that you have the environment that will prove mutually beneficial, and keep him both invested, and motivated.
And if it pays off, it’ll be hailed as a masterstroke.
2 – IS THIS THE YEAR FINN CALLAGHAN STEPS UP HIS GAME?
It’s difficult not to like what you see from Finn Callaghan.
He has had the benefit of working through his formative AFL years as part of a team with a very solid and mature midfield nucleus. Working alongside Josh Kelly, Stephen Coniglio, and Callan Ward, Callaghan has been permitted to take his time and find the flow of the game.
The whips have not been cracking, and the expectations have been kept in check… even if Leigh Montagna continually compared him to Marcus Bontempelli. That might just prove that either I have an exceptional memory, or nobody really listens to Leigh Montagna…
Comparisons of kids to modern greats may sound good when the expert makes them – like the people comparing Bailey Humphrey at Gold Coast, to Dustin Martin just a little while back – but they’re ridiculous, and place undue pressure on the kids.
Anyway, as we enter year four of his AFL career, we find Finn Callaghan on the verge of what appears to be something special. Sitting at almost 23 touches per game, he made the move into the middle in 2024, and looks set to spend much more time in there in 2025.
This is all part of why I admire the way the Giants have gone about their list management. They clearly had plans for Callaghan and were content to transition him into the midfield mix on their terms. They refused to be rushed into it, whilst allowing players like Josh Kelly and Coniglio to play their best footy in there in the interim.
And what do I mean by that?
Well, I mean that it is just about the right time for Finn to nudge one of the older fellas out of that centre square.
Callaghan attended 43% of the centre bounces in 2024, and right behind him was James Peatling, as he staked his claim for midfield time, as well. With Peatling now out of the picture, the competition for those extra minutes in the guts is reduced – Cal Ward only attended 16% of them in 2024, and Josh Kelly was behind Callaghan as well, notching 38%. The other factor will be how often Adam Kingsley throws Jake Stringer into the guts. He was at 31% at Essendon in 2024.
This is the time for Callaghan to step up to the plate and commence making a permanent place in the GWS midfield his own; it’s there for the taking, this season.
And what would that look like?
Well, Tom Green is the staple at centre bounces, and for good reason. He attended a whopping 80% of the Giants’ total in 2024, and whilst I don’t think Finn will match that, rotating him through about 60-65% of the time gives him ample time to have an impact. His rangy stride and long kicking make any touch he gets a potent one, and this is the season we see him become the weapon he has been touted to be since he was drafted.
If Callaghan and Josh Kelly rotate through the same role, with the wing position the best option for the other when not at the centre bounce, the Giants may well have a great one-two punch from the pair in 2025.
3 – DO THE GIANTS NEED TO SPLIT THE LOAD MORE EVENLY BETWEEN LACHIE WHITFIELD AND LACHIE ASH ON THE REBOUND?
I love when a team orchestrates a good run from half-back. Done well, it can blow a game wide open.
The longer the season went, the more the Giants tried to generate that type of run through Lachie Whitfield, and for the most part, it worked like a treat. The greyhound loved getting on his bike and darting away with the footy – it was like the role he was made to play.
However, when push came to shove, the best team of the year simply didn’t permit Whitfield the time and space he usually had. They did their homework and closed down the avenues he enjoyed taking. As a result, the Lions were able to reel the Giants in and pinch a game they never should have been able to get.
In a lot of ways, that comeback win paved the way to the flag for Brisbane.
It certainly would have lost it for them, had they dropped it, right? Like it did to you guys?
Ouch.
A huge part of that loss was due to the attention Whitfield got in defence. No, they didn’t try to rough him up, as teams have been trying to do for years. Callum Ah Chee just put the bumpers up, halted his run, and then punished him the other way. Captain Hindsight says that the Giants really needed a Plan B ready to launch, and it should have been in the form of Lachie Ash.
However, as Whitfield was being closed down, Ash had plenty to do, himself, and the Giants need to be better at providing options so that their run from defence is never completely shut down again.
Whitfield ended up with a season-low 19 touches. Ash had 16.
The Giants need to develop an ambidextrous situation at half-back – if the left one don’t get ya, the right one will! And they need it in place early – not just there as an untested Plan B in case of emergency.
Of course, this means alternating the preferred rebounder, and not just week to week, but moment by moment in every game. You cannot sit back and hope that things click at the pointy end of the season – these plans need to be in place early, and they need to be practised weekly. Nothing should come as a surprise in September.
Whilst Ash had a solid season, he was roughly nine disposals per game adrift of the mark set by Whitfield. The ideal situation would see both these players hovering around 24-25 touches each, to continually keep the opposition guessing, and have them both prepared to step up their game if the other is curtailed.
Adam Kingsley is no fool. Opposed to Whitfield, Ah Chee not only closed down the run of Whitfield, but capitalised on the running man’s average defensive skill set. He knows he has to do better by his player, and his team, so expect there to be a contingency plan this season, and expect Lachie Ash to receive more responsibility, as a result.
4 – IS THIS THE YEAR TOM GREEN BECOMES THE BEST MID IN THE GAME?
He’s not far off it, already.
Is there a player with cleaner hands at ground level than Tom Green? It’s like the bloke has footy magnets on his mitts, and when the ball is in the area, it gravitates right into his hands. He just does not fumble.
Quite amazing when you consider how much hard footy he wins – he was second in the competition in contested possessions per game and number one in total disposals for the 2024 season, but when it came to Brownlow night, the young star ended up 18 votes from the lead.
Three votes P Cripps, indeed.
Still, having just turned 24, you feel the best is yet to come from Green. The real question is – what does that best look like?
Improving on a season that saw him average 30.2 disposals and 6.2 clearances per contest is a stretch, but for me, it is not about bigger numbers for Green, but how dangerous he makes those around him that will constitute improvement in his own game.
As goes Tom Green, so goes the GWS midfield.
He will be surrounded by high quality kicks of the footy, such as Finn Callaghan, Stephen Coniglio, and Josh Kelly. Green’s ability to extract the footy, draw the pressure, stand in a tackle, and release the ball cleanly to those blokes on the outside, makes him arguably the most important player on the park for the Giants. Of course, Sam Taylor and Jesse Hogan fans would have something to say about that, but without Green controlling the middle – and with his size and power, he DOES control it. Without him, the ball flies into the opposition’s attacking fifty quicker, and flies into the Giants’ forward fifty less often and more slowly.
Even if there were to be a slight reduction in numbers for Green – let’s say he drops down to 26-27 touches per game – as long as the other mids are getting clean footy, he is absolutely doing his job. With all due respect to Rhys Mathieson, this bloke will be the barometer in terms of how well the Giants are travelling.
If he is making others better, the Giants will be flying. If he is getting bigger numbers, but others are not getting involved, then there is an issue. 2025 is the season he becomes a bigger, stronger Diesel Williams.
Maybe then he’ll get the Brownlow rewards he deserves…
5 – WHAT DOES THE 2025 CEILING LOOK LIKE FOR AARON CADMAN?
This one will be interesting – with the addition of Jake Stringer to the mix, I wonder whether we may see a situation where there are too many people vying for the same footy, and Cadman, being the youngest and, arguably, the least able to hold his own, will be the one forced to the side.
Of course, the flip side to that is he continues the development that saw him kick 30 goals in 2024 continues, as he demonstrates just why GWS were so keen to get him to the club in the first place.
You see, there is this perception that GWS went after Cadman because he was a “safe bet”. He was not from Vic Metro, like Harry Sheezel or George Wardlaw, and it was floated that the Giants moved up in the draft to snag him because they thought he was less of a flight risk.
Be that as it may, it meant that the perception of him in the footy media was that he was actually lesser-than those who came after him, and his 2024 season set the table for him to absolutely prove those people wrong.
With Jesse Hogan and Toby Greene drawing the heat, Cadman was able to bob up and snag multiple goals on seven occasions – a handy little return. However, what the Giants are after from him in 2025 will be consistency. Seven games with multiple goals are great, but it’s the four games where he doesn’t hit the scoreboard that need to be whittled down. The key with Cadman is that he has to continually provide a threat. He cannot be the player that the opposition sags off and releases in order to help on one of the others. If they do that, Cadman needs to be ready, and the remainder of the team have to be aware that he is available to make his opponent pay.
Here’s the thing – I am big on forward planning, and whilst it may be very tempting to divert attention and target Jake Stringer in place of Cadman in 2025 – he has the runs on the board, after all – I would much prefer the Giants maintain their focus on keeping their young star involved. He came along beautifully in 2024, and he created his own momentum. That would buoy his confidence, and he should head into 2025 expecting a better year, again.
But in a forward six that can spread the load, that may not occur.
Really, should Cadman return the same number of goals as he did in 2024, I would be thrilled for him. He will be playing with several guns, and there is only so much footy that will come into their shared area. I want to see him stand up when required, and make room when that need arises, as well. It’s a tricky situation for a young bloke, particularly as he may feel the need to avoid criticism by hitting the scoreboard, himself, but I would be preaching understanding to the GWS supporters.
If the team is winning, and Cadman isn’t kicking goals, it’s fine. The first part of the equation is the important bit. He has a long shelf life in this league, and it is important that he embraces team success over individual recognition.
Do that, and the season is a success, irrespective of whether he kicks bags or not.
The next 13 questions are for our members. Option to join below.
This is just under a third of our preview. The rest is available exclusively to our members. People, we give value. No same old gabage you’re going to hear from ten others, taking turns in mimicking each other. No played out opinions. Thoughtful and comprehensive – that’s what we aspire to provide in these previews, and your support makes them bigger and better every year. Jump on board.
