Analysis 2026 GWS Giants - Best 23, breakout player(s) & team chat

[dlanod]

You don't?

Briggs crosses the centre line to wrestle with his opponent at literally every centre bounce. That will now be a free kick against.

This rule change is going to greatly favor the high-leaping tap ruckmen and disadvantage the rucks who rely on brute strength and engaging with their opponent. First and foremost of those would be Briggs.

It'll be really interesting to see the impact on Briggs. It'll absolutely impact him because that's 90% of his ruckwork at the centre bounce - cross the line, block the opponent, use his strength to work back to the ball for the tap to avoid a free kick against. He's also one of the shorter rucks. He's definitely going to need to add more strings to his ruck bow, or improve his forward skills (since he's better around the ground) and start off forward and rotate through against second rucks behind Madden (not sure how he compares though).

 

[captainMyCaptain]

The ruck change could definitely open the door for Leek to fill the role of our 2nd ruck.

 

[Giant Pete]

The ruck change could definitely open the door for Leek to fill the role of our 2nd ruck.

Apart from centre bounce, he would get thrown around like crazy.

 

[Giant Pete]

We just don’t have a ruck who can compete in the air at those centre ‘bounce’s.
Logan smith is a bit taller and has a bit better leap, but not like a DeKoning.
It’s hard to tell how much of an advantage it will be at this stage. At least clubs have an offseason to prepare for it.

 

[Jack Richards]

Cadman
Brown
Riccardi
Gothard
Hannaford
Thomas
Rowston
Angove
Leake
McMullin
Fonti
Madden
Gru
Aleer
Angwin

Ough and Logan Smith?

 

[Giant Pete]

Ough and Logan Smith?

Yep. Them too.

 

[Giant Strides]

List analysis: Where your club ranks for age and experience

Who has the oldest list, who has the youngest, and which club has the most experience heading into 2026?

www.afl.com.au

Average age: 24.3 (equal 10th oldest)
Average games: 77 (seventh most experienced)
Most games: [PLAYERCARD]Toby Greene[/PLAYERCARD] (261)
Players with 100-plus games: 14
Players with less than 50 games: 22

 

[Giant Strides]

MSN

Close to 170 AFL players will enter the 2026 season eligible for the Rising Star Award, with a mix of recent draftees and young guns entering another campaign viewed as the top contenders for the title. West Coast has the most players eligible for the award with 14, with Collingwood, Essendon, Sydney and GWS the next best at 11 each.

GWS (11)

Oskar Taylor

Finn Davis

Jack Ough

Logan Smith

Oliver Hannaford

Riley Hamilton

Josaia Delana

Harrison Oliver

Cody Angove

James Leake

Phoenix Gothard

 

[MelbourneGWS]

AFL website’s view of a player from each club who is primed to have an impactful 2026 after a frustrating 2025.

Brent Daniels (six games in 2025)​

The Giants missed Daniels' energy and spark throughout their 2025 season. The small forward was sidelined with a rare abdominal injury, and he underwent "significant surgery" around that area at season's end. Daniels has been a crucial player for the Giants and had kicked 20-plus goals in 2023 and 2024, and his return to full health is set to be crucial to GWS.

The player at your club ready to fire after a frustrating 2025

Which player could have a big impact at your club next year?

www.afl.com.au

 

[Land of the Giants]

We still have a number of guys who will make steps forward next year. These are the ones who I’m anticipating will continue to improve:
Cadman
Brown
Riccardi
Gothard
Hannaford
Thomas
Rowston
Angove
Leake
McMullin
Fonti
Madden
Gru
Aleer
Angwin

I think all of these guys can be an improved version of themselves by some margin… for different reasons.
For some it’s getting to the 50 odd games mark last year and then getting one more preseason in before they enter their prime next year.
For a guy like Ricca, he’s coming up to 100 games.. he’s 25, and finally found a role that suits him. I liked a lot of his work in that pinch hit ruck role. I think he has more in him… I noticed he leaned off a touch this year and wouldn’t be surprised if this continued next year with another preseason.
For other guys like Hannaford, he must be chomping at the bit to show his wares… someone like him could take major strides forward over the offseason. He just needs to build his repeat running… this takes time.

If we're going to contend next year, all of them need to step up, especially:

Angwin
Brown
Cadman
Fonti
Gruzewski
McMullin
Riccardi
Rowston
Thomas

These guys have had decent apprenticeships. We need more than meaningful improvement out of them.

 

[Giant Strides]

Re-selecting the first 10 picks of the 2017 AFL Draft

Just three of the opening 10 picks have remained at the top of re-draft.

www.zerohanger.com

Pick 1 - Brisbane - [PLAYERCARD]Sam Taylor[/PLAYERCARD]

In 2017, the Lions were undergoing a genuine rebuild - they had failed to finish outside the bottom two for three consecutive years. Similar to what Carlton did in selecting Jacob Weitering two years earlier, a generational fullback and leader was exactly what the Lions needed.

Taylor has turned into arguably the best defender in the game. The 26-year-old is a one-on-one beast, regularly playing on the best key forwards in the game. He picks off opposition high balls with ease, averaging three intercept marks per game across his career.

Eight years on, it's hard to argue against Taylor as the top selection. The Giants defender has established himself as the premier key defender in the competition and the ideal player to anchor the Lions' developing list at the time.

 

[Giant Gutsache]

Re-selecting the first 10 picks of the 2017 AFL Draft

Just three of the opening 10 picks have remained at the top of re-draft.

www.zerohanger.com

Pick 1 - Brisbane - Sam Taylor

In 2017, the Lions were undergoing a genuine rebuild - they had failed to finish outside the bottom two for three consecutive years. Similar to what Carlton did in selecting Jacob Weitering two years earlier, a generational fullback and leader was exactly what the Lions needed.

Taylor has turned into arguably the best defender in the game. The 26-year-old is a one-on-one beast, regularly playing on the best key forwards in the game. He picks off opposition high balls with ease, averaging three intercept marks per game across his career.

Eight years on, it's hard to argue against Taylor as the top selection. The Giants defender has established himself as the premier key defender in the competition and the ideal player to anchor the Lions' developing list at the time.

Would be unfair to have Sam Taylor and Harris Andrews in the same side.

 

[GWS Goose]

Would be unfair to have Sam Taylor and Harris Andrews in the same side.

Unless Harris wants to be a Giant

 

[Giant Strides]

Unless Harris wants to be a Giant

I'd definitely prefer Andrews over Himmelberg. Would be almost the perfect backline then.

 

[Giant Strides]

This is probably true:

Who wants what? Every coach's New Year's resolution for 2026

We look at what each AFL coach will vow to do differently when the clock strikes midnight

www.afl.com.au

ADAM KINGSLEY (Greater Western Sydney)​

Ensure his Giants are ready for another mental grind. There's no questioning the high-end talent on the list, but the past three seasons have ended in September disappointment for Kingsley and his men. A one-point preliminary final loss to Collingwood in 2023, blown leads against Sydney and Brisbane in 2024, and succumbing late after hitting the front against Hawthorn in 2025. Are the Giants ready to do the hard yards through the home and away season to give themselves the best chance come finals time? Kingsley needs to unlock a collective mental toughness that has fallen a fraction short the past three years. – Michael Whiting

 

[Colonial]

I mean they aren’t wrong.

 

[Giant Strides]

This is a decent article, with very interesting stats for GWS. Also, the conclusion regarding the inclusion of [PLAYERCARD]Clayton Oliver[/PLAYERCARD] is heartening for us.

Art of possession: Where the AFL's best midfielders won the ball in 2025

Using possession location, we reveal the areas the league's best ball-winners thrive in 👇

www.zerohanger.com

In 2025, just 22 listed midfielders averaged at least 25 disposals per game (minimum 15 games played). While that ousted 2024's group of 20, it's a much tighter-knit group than the ones from a few seasons ago, including 2019, which had 42 midfielders average at least 25 touches every weekend.

Possession location data, according to WheeloRatings, refers to the distribution of possessions won in the four zones of an AFL field: defensive 50, defensive midfield, attacking midfield and forward 50.

Giants young star Finn Callaghan is the biggest outlier among this crop, with the biggest disparity between his percentage of possessions won in defensive and attacking areas. Close to 69 per cent of his possessions are behind the midway line - no other qualified midfielder claims more than 62 per cent.

His dynamic partner, Tom Green, joins him with a similarly high percentage of defensive possessions, with 17.8 per cent coming inside defensive 50. The numbers back up a poor clearance-winning year for GWS, who ranked 13th in the metric in 2025, forcing them to play behind the ball more often.

However, what will excite Giants fans is the addition of Clayton Oliver to the engine room. Just shy of 50 per cent of his possessions came from the attacking half of the ground, with 40.4 per cent in the attacking midfield, which ranks sixth on this list.

That's particularly impressive coming from a Melbourne side that ranked 14th in clearances in 2025, suggesting he has the ability to bolster that area of the oval in Western Sydney and give the Giants the edge they need to gain greater scoring opportunities from the forward half of the ground.

 

[Land of the Giants]

This is a decent article, with very interesting stats for GWS. Also, the conclusion regarding the inclusion of Clayton Oliver is heartening for us.

Art of possession: Where the AFL's best midfielders won the ball in 2025

Using possession location, we reveal the areas the league's best ball-winners thrive in 👇

www.zerohanger.com

In 2025, just 22 listed midfielders averaged at least 25 disposals per game (minimum 15 games played). While that ousted 2024's group of 20, it's a much tighter-knit group than the ones from a few seasons ago, including 2019, which had 42 midfielders average at least 25 touches every weekend.

Possession location data, according to WheeloRatings, refers to the distribution of possessions won in the four zones of an AFL field: defensive 50, defensive midfield, attacking midfield and forward 50.

Giants young star Finn Callaghan is the biggest outlier among this crop, with the biggest disparity between his percentage of possessions won in defensive and attacking areas. Close to 69 per cent of his possessions are behind the midway line - no other qualified midfielder claims more than 62 per cent.

His dynamic partner, Tom Green, joins him with a similarly high percentage of defensive possessions, with 17.8 per cent coming inside defensive 50. The numbers back up a poor clearance-winning year for GWS, who ranked 13th in the metric in 2025, forcing them to play behind the ball more often.

However, what will excite Giants fans is the addition of Clayton Oliver to the engine room. Just shy of 50 per cent of his possessions came from the attacking half of the ground, with 40.4 per cent in the attacking midfield, which ranks sixth on this list.

That's particularly impressive coming from a Melbourne side that ranked 14th in clearances in 2025, suggesting he has the ability to bolster that area of the oval in Western Sydney and give the Giants the edge they need to gain greater scoring opportunities from the forward half of the ground.

The article helps explain why we struggle so badly against the Bulldogs.

Bontempelli and Richards are ranked #1 & #2 for distribution of possessions into the F50 - 15.1% for Bontempelli, 14.2% for Richards. That compares to Green 9.4% (equal #10) and Callaghan, a woeful 3.2% (#21).

Also, for distribution of possessions out of the attacking midfield, Richards was #2 with 42%, and Bontempelli #8 with 39.6%. That compares to Green at #20 with 32.6% and Callaghan at #22 with 28.2%.

No wonder they had our back line under so much pressure.

 

[Giant Pete]

One thing analysts don’t cover is that for the last part of the season, when we moved Bedford out of the midfield, we were a top 4 clearance team from memory.

 

[sydney_gws]

Jesse was on tv with Toby during the scg cricket test. Does anybody know how Jesse is going now? Running freely yet?

 

[Giant Strides]

Selecting every AFL team’s best 23 for 2026: GWS Giants

After a disappointing elimination final defeat at the hands of the Hawks last season, the Giants will believe they are still in the window in 2026.

www.zerohanger.com

FB: Lachie Ash, Jack Buckley, Lachie Whitfield
HB: Connor Idun, Sam Taylor, Harrison Himmelberg
C: Darcy Jones, Clayton Oliver, Josh Kelly
HF: Toby Bedford, Aaron Cadman, Jake Stringer
FF: Toby Greene, Jesse Hogan, Callum Brown
FO: Kieren Briggs, Tom Green, Finn Callaghan
I/C: Stephen Coniglio, Jake Riccardi, Xavier O'Halloran, Brent Daniels, Joe Fonti

Stiff to miss: Leek Aleer, Ryan Angwin, Toby McMullin, Harry Rowston

 

[Colonial]

Jesse was on tv with Toby during the scg cricket test. Does anybody know how Jesse is going now? Running freely yet?

Pert of me hopes he is & part of me doesn’t. If he isn’t 100% he doesn’t play the ego trip game.