PART NINE: THE NUMBER ONE CONTENDER
We have finally arrived at what I believe are the two best teams. We’ve looked at the teams that will struggle, and those that will contend. Some teams will fall from the perch, and others will rise from the ashes.
For the final two teams, I have decided to break from tradition. Normally, I will look at teams two at a time, but since we’re focusing on the cream of the crop, we will now analyse each squad individually.
We begin with a side that has been around the mark for the last five years, and no matter who comes in, and who inevitably goes out, they continue to be the AFL’s biggest recent success stories.
List Analysis Part Nine: The Grand Finalist.
GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY:
2025 Best 23:
B: Connor Idun, Sam Taylor, Lachlan Ash
HB: Lachie Whitfield, Jack Buckley, Harry Himmelberg
C: Callan Ward, Tom Green, Josh Kelly
HF: Toby Greene, Aaron Cadman, Toby Bedford
F: Brent Daniels, Jesse Hogan, Jake Stringer
RK: Kieran Briggs, Finn Callaghan, Stephen Coniglio
INT: Leek Aleer, Harvey Thomas, Jake Riccardi, Callum Brown, Darcy Jones (sub)
ANALYSIS:
When Tasmania enters the league in 2028 and begins the task of building a successful list, they should look to the last team that joined the competition and follow their lead. It took the GWS Giants just five years to play finals, and three years later, they were playing off in a Grand Final. In fact, of GWS’s 13 seasons, they have played finals in over half of them and have only missed the finals on two occasions since 2016.
No matter how many players choose to leave in search of greater opportunities, this football factory continues to develop a list strong enough to be in contention almost every season, and as you will soon see, despite another off-season exodus, the Giants have done so again.
If Melbourne’s Steven May and Jake Lever are the undisputed defensive tag team champions, there is a strong argument that if the upward trajectory continues, Sam Taylor and Jack Buckley will heavily challenge for that title, if they have not usurped them already. In my opinion, Taylor is currently the best key defender in the AFL, and given he’s only just entering his prime, I don’t think that is going to change anytime soon. But what has helped Taylor has been the emergence of Buckley, who has taken a lot of pressure off Taylor’s shoulders.
And the beauty of employing this duo in the backline gives the Giants the luxury of utilising perhaps the most athletic player in the AFL, Leek Aleer, as the third tall marking interceptor. Wade Derksen, who sought a move to the Demons in the off-season, provides handy depth, and he can also play as a key forward, but until his contract expires, he, unfortunately, sits behind some very handy players that he will find it tough to go past.
The Giants rebounding brigade also rivals any other group in the competition. It’s a quartet of both superstars and underrated gems, but each brings their own strengths, and all can cover for each other whenever one needs a rest on the bench. Harry Himmelberg began his career as an athletic key forward, but he has found his niche as an intercepting half-back, which is somewhat surprising given he sits third on the Giants’ all-time goal-kicking list. Then there’s the ultra-smooth moving Lachie Whitfield, who may be the most aesthetically pleasing footballer I have ever seen. There is a gracefulness about Whitfield rarely seen in other players, and his ability to cover the ground and deliver the ball by foot has to be seen to be believed.
Englishman Connor Idun has exploded from nowhere since playing just three games in his first two seasons but has now become the third, even fourth tall defender, and his reading of the play is exquisite. Finally, there’s Lachie Ash, who is still somewhat underrated given his draft number (pick four in 2019). Ash is the defender opposition forwards hate the most, as he loves nothing more than going for a run, and given he averages nearly 25 disposals a game across the last two seasons, it seems coaches still haven’t yet figured out how to curb his influence. Depth is a concern, with only seven gamer Josh Fahey, five gamer Joe Fonti, and yet-to-debut Harrison Oliver serving as backups.
A pattern forming with the Giants’ list build is their ability to pluck genuine stars from seemingly nowhere. They did it with Jack Buckley. They (somewhat) did it with Jesse Hogan, who we will get to later. And they did it again with ruckman Kieren Briggs, who has become the long-term big man the Giants have been searching for since Shane Mumford’s retirement. Briggs only played nine games in his first four seasons, before coming in part-way through the 2023 season and he has never looked back.
Perhaps the only concern with the Giants’ ruck division is the lack of a true number two option. You can argue that competition for spots brings out the best in players, but Briggs basically sits all his own here. The best option they’ve got is 34-year-old Lachlan Keeffe, who I’m sure shares our surprise at still being on an AFL list, all due respect intended. Keeffe will come in and do an admirable job whenever he is needed, and he will need to because if Briggs goes down, the only other ruckmen on the list are rookies Logan Smith and Nick Madden, who still look multiple years away from being AFL ready.
One thing the Giants have always been noted for is their plethora of elite midfield talent. No matter how many players get developed into the game’s best only to leave for more cash or opportunities, GWS’s midfield conveyor belt continues to churn out superstar after superstar.
The three constants for the last decade have been Callan Ward, Stephen Coniglio, and Josh Kelly. And in any other team, this would be a solid trio that could win you a game or two if all goes well. But the beauty of the Giants is that in two of the three, they are now the cherry on top, rather than the whole sundae.
Because in Tom Green and Finn Callaghan, the Giants have found the superstars that will take them well into the future. Green is already one of the game’s best, and Callaghan is quickly joining him. Both are the prototype for the modern midfielder. Tall (both measure 192cm), strong, tough contested beasts who possess elite running capacity and can be swung forward if necessary.
That’s not to say that Ward, Coniglio and Kelly are obsolete, far from it. Kelly is still absolutely in his prime and glides across the ground with beauty and grace. Ward and Coniglio can still produce their best on occasion, Coniglio more than Ward, but both their bodies are beginning to break down a little much, and it’s good that both don’t have the pressure to perform like they would at another club. And that’s also not forgetting Toby Bedford, who has quickly developed a reputation as one of the competition’s best defensive midfielders. Xavier O’Halloran, Ryan Angwin, Jacob Wehr, and Harry Rowston all have AFL experience and can provide cover when needed, and Jack Ough (rough name buddy), Oliver Hannaford, Cody Angove and James Leake will hopefully get a taste of senior football at some stage this season.
When Jeremy Cameron left the Giants at the end of 2020, the Giants needed to find a ready-made replacement and fast. They traded with Fremantle for Jesse Hogan, who wanted to see the back of him after two underwhelming seasons, accepting just pick 54 in the deal. It wasn’t the best start at GWS, with Hogan managing 20 goals in an injury-interrupted nine-game 2021 season. But since then, he has gradually improved his efforts, culminating in a breakout 2024, in which Hogan won the Coleman Medal with a by-far career-best 77 goals, and took home the Kevin Sheedy Medal as the Giants’ best player.
But as much as Hogan is the clear focal point in the forward line, it’s not like it’s Hogan or bust for the Giants. When they traded up to land the number one pick in 2022, the Giants knew they were bringing in the key forward of their future, and perhaps the most talented key position prospect since Jon Patton and Tom Boyd a decade earlier. In his debut year, Aaron Cadman showed glimpses, but it was his second season last year that Cadman came of age and proved that not only is he the Giants’ best option to stand alongside Hogan, but when Hogan retires, they’ll have his natural successor.
The Giants have another excellent young key forward in Jake Riccardi. Although he currently sits behind Hogan and Cadman, he will likely continue to float in and out of the senior side while continuing his development. Callum Brown is another forward who could be anything. The Irishman has come on in leaps and bounds, but he still needs to work on his consistency. Twenty-year-old Max Gruzewski is the longest-term prospect who will keep developing for the next few years.
And to top it all off, they recruited the cherry on top of their tall forward brigade with Jake Stringer. Sure, Stringer does come with baggage, but when you are in win-now mode, as the Giants are, it’s easy to look past Stringer’s flaws and focus specifically on what he brings on the field, which is 40-plus goals, and an ability to float through the midfield and use his power and strength in brilliant bursts.
It’s been a common theme through this whole piece that not only are the Giants loaded with talent in every position, but they’re also stocked with both superstar diamonds and underrated gems. And it’s the same story in the small forward room, where the Giants are led supremely by either the best, or worst, captain in the competition, depending on your affection for him. But the Giants walk taller when Toby Greene is at his best in the forward line, and it takes an elite small defender to curb his influence. And in underrated (if we can still call him that) Brent Daniels, the Giants have the elite pressure forward that makes life easier for those around him. Daniels averages 18 disposals and a goal a game, but it’s his work off the ball that pleases Giants’ fans the most.
In terms of depth, and because you simply can’t fit everyone into the starting line-up, we have young guns Harvey Thomas and Darcy Jones ready to make their presence felt from the interchange bench. In their debut seasons, Thomas played all but two games, and Jones featured in 14. Both showed important progress and all but cemented their place in the best 23, such was the significance of their performances. Rounding out the small forward brigade are Phoenix Gothard, Conor Stone, Toby McMullin, Josiah Delana, and Nathan Wardius, who will all continue to develop their strengths in the VFL.
Purely from a list perspective, the Giants have all bases covered. Superstar midfielders? Check. Strong key position players in career-best form? Check. An inspirational on-field leader with a follow-me attitude? Check!
The AFL couldn’t ask for a better advertisement in Western Sydney, and this growing fan base has jumped on the bandwagon of a proven winner. They’re stable on the administration side, have a squad that can not only win now, but is set up for the future, and if everything goes well for them, they’ll once again be back on the last Saturday in September, ready to make a big, big sound.
And the only thing standing in their way will be a certain Purple Haze from out west.
MATT OMAN’S PROJECTED 2025 LADDER
1
2 Greater Western Sydney
3 Brisbane
4 Geelong
5 Sydney
6 Carlton
7 Hawthorn
8 Melbourne
9 Adelaide
10 Port Adelaide
11 Gold Coast
12 Collingwood
13 Western Bulldogs
14 North Melbourne
15 Essendon
16 West Coast
17 St Kilda
18 Richmond
