Retired Daniel Giansiracusa (#891)

[StringyDog]

2011 End of Season Review

by Griffs_Revenge

Photo by [name]old_dog[/name]

Games - 20
Goals - 45
Best and Fairest - 7th (72 votes)

Date of Birth - 11th March 1982
Recruited Pick 32 1999 draft.
Height/Weight: 182cm, 83kg
Dreamteam Price: 1766 points; $328,800 (-$58,300)
Supercoach: 1766 points; $385,900 (-$65,700)

Stats history: Daniel Giansiracusa (AFL Tables)

Despite a tough year for the team on the field, Giansiracusa, like a fine wine, continues to prove critics wrong and take his game to new levels despite being past the prime age profile. Kicking 45 goals only eclipsed by Hall was a great return for a player playing one of the toughest positions on the field, he also had 20 goal assists and kicked goals in every game bar 1 (where he got injurred) and multiple goals in 14 out of 20 games.

A much maligned player by fans over the years he has become a consistent and reliable performer and performed well against the top sides this season, a feat not many of his teammates could claim this year.

Capable of playing in the midfield, but limited time due to similar players in Boyd and Cross playing has meant Giansiracusa has had to play a role as a small creative forward over past few seasons. With Hall's retirement and only young heads around him next season he is likely to lead the forwardline attack in 2012.

Notable Games:

Round 11 - vs Geelong: A shining light in a disappointing team effort kicking 5 goals from 23 possessions.

Round 15 - vs Melbourne: 4 goals from 25 possessions resulted in 3 brownlow votes.

 

[dogwatch]

What has happened to Gia this year?

I used to be a fan of his, but he seems to have lost something. Is it advancing age (he has passed 30) or an ongoing niggle (hip? foot?) or maybe the fact that Bazza is no longer there to attract all the defenders' attention? Or all three?

I know he leads our goal kicking with a modest 8 goals from 5 games (on target for 30+ over the season) but the manner of his achievements is not encouraging. In his 3 goal haul against Collingwood he played for (and legitimately won) 2 free kicks and the third he burgled from a long range shot by Griffen as it crossed the line.

His stats are poor. He used to head the goal assists but has had only 3 in 5 games this year and he is probably the worst for defensive pressure (5 tackles in 5 games!) He's also down on general possessions. These stats should be damning in Macca's eyes but so far no signs that he will be dropped.

If he really does have a future in the seniors I think a couple of weeks in the VFL might really sharpen him up. And if it doesn't, we'll he doesn't deserve a spot in the WB 22 and it's a fine career over, sadly.

 

[Ant_]

Still has his marking one on one skills but appears to have dropped a lot of pace, not that he was overly quick to being with. I guess some players age quickly?

 

[dogwatch]

Gia played a better game today and deserves to hold his place on that performance. Stats not great and I would have liked to see him do more defensive work, chasing, tackling, one-percenters but if he kicks three goals each week then he will probably have earned his spot. Great one hand mark for a goal in the final qtr.

 

[Bodicifer]

Gia

I've been a fan of Gia's over the years despite a fair few knockers. I thought he's used what ability he has and has contributed well over the years. He uses his body well in marking contests one on one and is a good kick. He kicked three Friday night which is good in isolation BUT Gia's defensive efforts are now very ordinary through lack of pace and being able to keep his feet and I reckon it is costing us just as many goals going the other way. Is it more obvious because other forwards around him arent doing enough or is it just Gia?

 

[Dogs_R_Us]

I've noticed he's always smaller than his opponents. Yes, he's slower and older, but smarter. He has to shoulder a bigger load than he would if we had a mature forward line.

 

[Tommycash]

I don't really care what people are thinking, I hope Gia pushes on for one more season. He's a class above still. Even if it's just a role as the sub, he's shown that he can really impact the game when he comes on.

 

[Testekill]

Super sub. Absolute genius of a player.

 

[Fossie 32]

 

[igloo dweller]

Adopt a Dog Season Preview

He’s old, my adopted dog. 15 years of AFL football is a lot in dog years…

Plenty of folk have kicked him and yelled abuse at him over the years. He’s copped it for not showing the fight of a pit bull, many deplore his lack of winning hard ball. He’s been chided for not having the spunk of a jack Russell, often seeking the ‘cheap kick’ and cheating away from contests. Certainly, not many have confused his leg speed with a whippet. He’s not going to chase down opposition sloths let alone rebounding half-back hares. Indeed, he kicked as many goals as he laid tackles in 2013.

All the metaphors make for pretty bleak reading for those (few?) who are fans of this stalwart dog. Except for one thing. This ol’ dog kicks goals. Lots of goals. Despite playing almost exclusively as a substitute player in 2013, Gia led the club goal kicking again with 36 majors.

In a team that was screaming out for skill, class and game awareness, Ol’ mate Gia provided all three. Often used by coach McCartney when the sting had gone out of opponents legs, Gia’s impact was often immediate and noticed on the scoreboard. Using guile and nous, he often took advantage of his opponents’ willingness to run-off him by using the facet of his game for which he is truly elite: his ability to find space. Once in possession within scoring range, the result was rarely in doubt – Gia scored 36.16 from his opportunities.

Gia’s role now goes beyond kicking goals. While he has always been a standout leader among the playing group, Gia is turning a focus to post-playing AFL life. In 2014, Gia will be supplementing his training load with indoctrination into the club’s coaching ranks. A formal appointment looms in 2015, and seems a masterstroke by the club’s board to identify and retain a player with as much game knowledge as anyone in the league.

 

[Fossie 32]

 

[TheHoneyBadger]

New avatar, keeping my boy in the frame but also honouring the great institution that is #fossilthursday

 

[igloo dweller]

same old, same old with gia so far this year.
still slow, still falls to ground easily, still finds space, still kicks goals.
after 9 rounds, has been dropped once. subbed on most games. averaging 9 or so possessions and a goal a game.

how about i just update his dog tag if he does something we don't expect him to do (like shirt-fronting justin koschitzke)?

 

[boydsno1]

Could have had 3 in a quarter. Still so skillful. Reckon he should be playing more then a quarter.

 

[igloo dweller]

how about i just update his dog tag if he does something we don't expect him to do ....

so he did just that.

subbed on early - unexpected
chased and pressured - unexpected
also - anyone notice that late in the 3rd Q, ol' gia was marauding as a loose man in defence. won a ball or two, then stood in the hole in front of cloke (even backing into the contest at one stage)? unexpected.

he also
played to a high level - not unexpected
kicked and created goals - not unexpected

NOTE TO GIA: everytime you do something other than sub on at 3QT, kick 1.1 from 6 possessions and have 1 goal assist, i have to update your dog tag. please desist.

 

[igloo dweller]

So since my last post about Gia he went and got himself rubbed out, played a bunch in the magoos and recently got recalled to the seniors. He’s still been in the vest, although the usual impact he has when coming off the bench has been stymied recently. It is the last week we'll all get to see the ol' boy go around and thankfully, the cocker has confirmed that he won’t be the sub.

There’s been a bit of debate on these pages where he sits in the ‘greatness’ spectrum. I reckon it’s ironic that if he’d retired 6 years ago, he’d be considered much closer to ‘James Mulligan’ than ‘Brad Johnson’. He has been the guy fans love to hate so passionately, for so long. Funny thing is, over the past seasons, I don’t think he’s actually changed a hell of a lot. I think it has been the supporters who’ve changed, and stopped seeing this player for what he isn’t (or wasn’t) and started to appreciate what he is (or was). There is no doubt that public sentiment has swung around on the silver fox. Perhaps the impending absence makes the heart grow fonder.

His stats prove him to be a player of rare ability. His 265 games (good for 10th all-time at our club) and 329 goals (good for 7th) are testament to his longevity and ability. It’s 98th percentile level at our club, and in league history. He’s played more games than Wynd, Dempsey, Beasley and Schultz. He’s kicked more goals than Royal, Smith, Quinlan and even more than Danny Del-Re. He’s averaged about 17 touches a game and 1.25 goals a game, often pushing up the ground to generate quality forward thrusts.

Gia’s stats in the preliminary years make interesting reading. These teams were arguably the most consistently good outfits we’ve put on the park, if not ever, then at least in my 32 years. That he was a first 22 regular during this time points to the likelihood that he’d be pushing for a spot for any Bulldogs team of any era. In 2008, he averaged 21 disposals, kicked 33g 11b (1.3 goals a game). In 2009, averaged 21 disposals and kicked a goal a game. In 2010, 19 disposals a game and 1.4 goals a game. The following year he was good for 18.5ppg and 2.5 goals a game. This paints him as a remarkably consistent performer throughout was a heartbreaking, but golden period in our club’s history.

His greatest strength as a player was his ability to find dangerous space. He achieved this through using his absolutely elite ability to read passages of play unfolding quicker than those around him, and coupled with a willingness to work harder than most to get to the spot. Once he gained possession of the ball, it was rarely wasted. His vision and decision making were consistently top shelf, and he was remarkably unselfish for a player pigeon-holed as a ‘goal-kicking’ half forward (he assisted on two goals for every three he kicked himself in our prelim years). His foot-skills, whether setting up teammates in better positions, or when kicking for goal were elite.

Gia’s leadership has become more apparent recently, particularly through the night match where he was mic’d up while wearing the sub vest. Few would realise that he’s been a vocal leader, setting standards on the training track for many years. I was there one windy Tuesday morning when a 3rd or 4th year Gia halted a drill and called in the players and sprayed them (including West, Johnson, Hudson, Croft, Grant) because their skills were s**t (and in about 2004, they probably were). In preseasons, he ran time-trials as if he was going to win them, and when Daniel Bandy whooped everyone again, it hurt him. He’s a fierce competitor, and trains and plays to win. He aspired to midfield roles for many years, but when told he was considered down the order as a midfielder, he became determined to perform as a HFF to make his side better. Some of the after training goal kicking competitions between he and Nathan Brown were epic. Our young players will have been schooled well. Such is his leadership, I think it’s fitting that it was he who held the pre-season silverware aloft a few year ago.

So where does my old mate sit? He’s gotta be right up there. Perhaps not on the level that Granty, Johnno and EJ are, for that is a truly rarefied mantle. But I have no hesitation in placing him at the table with the best Bulldogs of all-time. He can rub shoulders with Wallis and Wynd, Murphy and Royal. Not bad for a 62kg kid from Altona.

Daniel Giansiracusa
Drafted P32, 199 National Draft
Games: 264 (to date)
Goals: 329 (to date)
Accolades
Best First Year Player 2001
Leading Goalkicker 2012, 2013 (runner up 2010, 2011)
3rd in 2010 B&F.

 

[Fossie 32]

Great to see this

http://www.westernbulldogs.com.au/video/2014-09-05/bob-on-mate-gia-charles-sutton-medal