Prediction 2023 GWS Giants - Predicted best 22, breakout player(s), general player/team discussion & questions

Orange crush · Jul 16, 2023

PaythePerryman said:
Legit not surprised when he's the worst and best player out there. Love the confidence. He was tossing the ruckman around today and kicked a goal. What a jet.

He’s like a dickens novel ….

dlanod · Jul 16, 2023

Orange crush said:
He’s like a dickens novel ….

Please sir, may I have some more?

Orange crush · Jul 16, 2023

dlanod said:
Please sir, may I have some more?

Grate expectations

Giant Strides · Jul 18, 2023

Giants in 2022

WINS: 5
LOSSES: 12
PREMIERSHIP POINTS: 20
POINTS FOR: 1316
POINTS AGAINST: 1505
PERCENTAGE: 87
LADDER POSITION: 15th

Giants in 2023

(Differential in brackets)

WINS: 9 (+4)
LOSSES: 8 (-4)
PREMIERSHIP POINTS: 36 (+16)
POINTS FOR: 1400 (+84)
POINTS AGAINST: 1408 (-97)
PERCENTAGE: 99 (+12)
LADDER POSITION: 9th (+6)

GWS had just undergone their eighth game with caretaker Mark McVeigh at the helm by the end of Round 18 last year.

Under Adam Kingsley in 2023 they sit just outside the eight with a much-improved 9-8 record having kicked 14 more goals and defended much better, conceding 16 less goals.

The Giants are a four-win better side in 2023 and it feels that way, maybe even a bit more.

The defence is in good shape in the hands of Sam Taylor and improved pair Jack Buckley and Connor Idun, the midfield has covered the loss of Tim Taranto and Jacob Hopper while adding goals, and their attack has a few more options to call on this year.

Last year they were rudderless. This year they are on the verge of finals.

Andrew Slevison

RATING: The Giants are better. A finals smokey?

12 months on - is your AFL club better, worse or indifferent?

Is your club improving in 2023?

www.sen.com.au

Giant Strides · Jul 20, 2023

Don't reckon Sam Taylor will make it into the actual AA team because he's missed too many games, but Brad Johnson is the first media commentator for this year to put him into his own AA team ...

See Johnson’s rolling All-Australian team after Round 18:

B: Isaac Quaynor (COL), Harris Andrews (BRI), Sam Taylor (GWS)

HB: Dan Houston (PA), Darcy Moore (c) (COL), Jack Sinclair (STK)

C: Josh Daicos (COL), Zak Butters (PA), Errol Gulden (SYD)

HF: Christian Petracca (MEL), Taylor Walker (ADE), Shai Bolton (RIC)

F: Jeremy Finlayson (PA), Charlie Curnow (CAR), Toby Greene (GWS)

R: Tim English (WB), Marcus Bontempelli (WB), Nick Daicos (COL)

INT: Jordan Dawson (ADE), Zach Merrett (ESS), Connor Rozee (PA), Lachie Neale (BRI)

SUB: Tim Taranto (RIC)

INS: Sam Taylor, Charlie Curnow, Shai Bolton

OUTS: Aliir Aliir, Joe Daniher, Izak Rankine

Brad Johnson’s rolling All-Australian team after Round 18

Johnson will be selecting a rolling All-Australian team throughout the 2023 AFL season.

www.sen.com.au

GWS Goose · Jul 20, 2023

Giant Strides said:
Don't reckon Sam Taylor will make it into the actual AA team because he's missed too many games, but Brad Johnson is the first media commentator for this year to put him into his own AA team ...

See Johnson’s rolling All-Australian team after Round 18:

B: Isaac Quaynor (COL), Harris Andrews (BRI), Sam Taylor (GWS)

HB: Dan Houston (PA), Darcy Moore (c) (COL), Jack Sinclair (STK)

C: Josh Daicos (COL), Zak Butters (PA), Errol Gulden (SYD)

HF: Christian Petracca (MEL), Taylor Walker (ADE), Shai Bolton (RIC)

F: Jeremy Finlayson (PA), Charlie Curnow (CAR), Toby Greene (GWS)

R: Tim English (WB), Marcus Bontempelli (WB), Nick Daicos (COL)

INT: Jordan Dawson (ADE), Zach Merrett (ESS), Connor Rozee (PA), Lachie Neale (BRI)

SUB: Tim Taranto (RIC)

INS: Sam Taylor, Charlie Curnow, Shai Bolton

OUTS: Aliir Aliir, Joe Daniher, Izak Rankine

Brad Johnson’s rolling All-Australian team after Round 18

Johnson will be selecting a rolling All-Australian team throughout the 2023 AFL season.

www.sen.com.au

reckon they'll pick Daicos as a half back or wing and throw in an extra mid.

If Josh Kelly finishes strong he is an outside chance of jagging a spot, perhaps on a wing. Missing games has hurt him also.

Pity Binga got injured, he was in AA form as well. I heard a commentator say that on the weekend actually.

Giant Strides · Jul 20, 2023

Who is in the box seat to win your club’s best and fairest?

We have gone through all 18 teams!

www.sen.com.au

Outright leader

Toby Greene

4

Toby Greene

Age
32

Ht

182cm

Wt
85kg

Pos.
Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D
22.7

5

K
12.5

5

HB
10.2

5

M
4.8

5

T
3.0

5

G
1.2

4

D
17.5

4

K
9.5

4

HB
8.0

4

M
4.8

4

T
1.0

2

G
2.3

5

D
26.6

5

K
12.4

5

HB
14.2

5

M
4.8

5

T
3.6

5

G
0.0

1

has taken to the sole captaincy role at GWS like a duck to water. He is so frequently the match-winner for the Giants with his freakish ability to kick crucial goals in the most outrageous ways. Greene has booted 41 goals (equal fifth in the league) and is averaging 18.3 disposals, which is his best return since 2019 when he spent more time in the midfield. The 2016 Kevin Sheedy Medallist looks set to become the third Giant to win two best and fairest awards with the club.

But there could be a little bit of competition…

In the mix

If the award doesn’t go to T.Greene, it might just go to T.Green. Tom Green has fully broken out in 2023 after showing plenty in 2021 and 2022. He is averaging over 31 disposals and one of the club’s best contested possession and clearance players.

Former skipper Stephen Coniglio has been back to his best this year and is a massive chance of claiming his first best and fairest. Two-time winner Josh Kelly has missed four games but will poll strongly, as he always does. Defender Jack Buckley has held down the fort in the absence of last year’s winner Sam Taylor and should be rewarded by the coaching staff.

GWS Goose · Jul 20, 2023

Giant Strides said:
Who is in the box seat to win your club’s best and fairest?

We have gone through all 18 teams!

www.sen.com.au

Outright leader

Toby Greene has taken to the sole captaincy role at GWS like a duck to water. He is so frequently the match-winner for the Giants with his freakish ability to kick crucial goals in the most outrageous ways. Greene has booted 41 goals (equal fifth in the league) and is averaging 18.3 disposals, which is his best return since 2019 when he spent more time in the midfield. The 2016 Kevin Sheedy Medallist looks set to become the third Giant to win two best and fairest awards with the club.

But there could be a little bit of competition…

In the mix

If the award doesn’t go to T.Greene, it might just go to T.Green. Tom Green has fully broken out in 2023 after showing plenty in 2021 and 2022. He is averaging over 31 disposals and one of the club’s best contested possession and clearance players.

Former skipper Stephen Coniglio has been back to his best this year and is a massive chance of claiming his first best and fairest. Two-time winner Josh Kelly has missed four games but will poll strongly, as he always does. Defender Jack Buckley has held down the fort in the absence of last year’s winner Sam Taylor and should be rewarded by the coaching staff.

Id be surprised if Toby was in front. He may finish there, but he has missed a few games and had a couple quiet games.

Our system rewards consistency and Cogs having played every game and been good in all of them and excellent in many, I suspect he is in front.

MelbourneGWS · Jul 22, 2023

Another breakout player and glad Perryman is getting some recognition in his 100th match

Low-profile GIANT Happy Flying Under the Radar

The GIANTS have plenty of big names but Harry Perryman, who brings up 100 games, is more than happy not being one of them.

www.gwsgiants.com.au

Giant Gutsache · Jul 22, 2023

MelbourneGWS said:
Another breakout player and glad Perryman is getting some recognition in his 100th match

Low-profile GIANT Happy Flying Under the Radar

The GIANTS have plenty of big names but Harry Perryman, who brings up 100 games, is more than happy not being one of them.

www.gwsgiants.com.au

A really honest, tough footballer. Bet his teammates love running out with him at their side.
From memory he saved the game for the Giants on debut touching a shot from Shai Bolton who was also on debut?
Not sure that suggesting 2023 is his breakout year recognises how good a player he has been up to this year.

Giant Strides · Jul 27, 2023

Some stats from this week's burning questions column: Every AFL club’s burning question for Round 20 – the Blowtorch

Giants’ burning question: Will anyone breach the ‘Great Wall of Taylor’?

Sam Taylor has been the GWS rock in defence, but even after missing seven games to a serious hamstring injury his return has sparked the Giants’ rich vein of form. Statistics show Taylor has become only the second player to be ranked number one in both defensive 1v1 wins and losses - a feat only ever achieved by Eagle Jeremy McGovern back in 2016. Taylor’s current 1v1 win rate sits at 61% - well above McGovern’s 47% and his 1v1 loss rate is a shockingly low 7% - again better than McGovern’s 15%. With Taylor down back, the Giants are now ranked first for marks inside 50 against and first for scores against.

“They are coughing up a lot of inside 50 opportunities to the opposition but they are bulletproof anytime the ball gets near the Great Wall of Taylor or his offsider in Jack Buckley,” David King said on AFL 360. “They are able to defend, get support down there. I look at their defensive numbers and think, ‘that’s ridiculous’. What he’s doing is quite frightening. It doesn’t matter where he is - he plays physical. He’s the game’s greatest interrupter right now.”

MelbourneGWS · Jul 28, 2023

More praise for Taylor. And kudos to the club for signing him up till 2025

He’s the quietly-spoken 24-year-old Giant from the outskirts of Perth with an anonymous name who’s played just 86 AFL games after being drafted with a mid second-round pick.
And he’s arguably the AFL’s most valuable – possibly the best – player.

Because what Sam Taylor

15

Sam Taylor

Age
26

Ht

198cm

Wt
95kg

Pos.
Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D
10.0

3

K
4.6

2

HB
5.4

4

M
3.3

3

T
2.1

4

MG
130.5

2

D
8.0

2

K
2.5

1

HB
5.5

3

M
2.8

3

T
2.5

3

MG
60.8

1

D
8.6

3

K
3.0

1

HB
5.6

4

M
1.2

2

T
2.8

5

MG
110.8

2

is producing on the footy field this year – in an era where the intercept backman is the most important asset for AFL coaches – is defensive utopia.

Two years ago the Giants re-signed Taylor until the end of the 2025 season, after extending his contract by an extra three years. That move, in hindsight, might be one of the shrewdest contract calls the Giants have ever made – for if Taylor was available on the open market this year, he’d surely command well over $1 million.

AFL’s most unlikely MVP is in defensive utopia. An Ablett-like feat looms after ‘frightening’ form

How ’frightening’ star became AFL’s most unlikely MVP and revealed Giants’ $1m masterstroke

www.foxsports.com.au

Giant Strides · Jul 28, 2023

Melbourne media slowly coming to understand what Giants fans have known for 3 years.

MelbourneGWS · Jul 30, 2023

What’s also been incredible about this season has been our away record.

our away record is 7-3, with wins in 7 different away grounds (Norwood, SCG, Geelong, Hobart, Alice, Adelaide and Ballarat). We only haven’t won in Optus, MCG and Marvel but our last game of the season is at Marvel vs Carlton.
our home record by contrast is 4-5 (1-2 in Manuka and 3-3 at Giants Stadium) with Swans and Essendon games left.

Giant Strides · Jul 30, 2023

MelbourneGWS said:
What’s also been incredible about this season has been our away record.

100% with you on this. The Giants of past years have had relatively poor away records, so this has been heartening to see. Obviously, little time spent at MCG & Marvel, where we will need to win finals, but still a step forward.

It also points to the obvious - if we can improve our record at home (while retaining a good away record), it would allow us to step up into top 4 territory!

Giant Gutsache · Jul 30, 2023

Surely Nick Haynes is best 22.
He showed his class when he came on and would have been handy in the 1st quarter when we conceded 9 F50 marks. The Bulldogs did us a favour by kicking terribly for goal.
As much as I loved the second half comeback, the game should have been completely done at halftime.

I don‘t recall Ward used as a tagger before. What a bonus to have him there as a cooler. Maybe he’ll put a clamp on Errol around the contest this week.

Giant Strides · Jul 31, 2023

Now there are multiple media sources reckoning that Sam Taylor's outstanding form this year should wipe out his missing games ...

The All-Australian Squeeze - The Defenders - The Mongrel Punt

There's a logjam of great players vying for All-Australian honours in 2023. The squeeze is tightest in defence. HB looks at the contenders

themongrelpunt.com

Sam Taylor returned to the GWS Giants in Round 14 and since then, his team has not dropped a game. I know there is a multitude of factors that contribute to a win, but having Taylor back in defence, taking the best offensive player on the opposition each week has guaranteed the Giants of at the very least, a breakeven.

And at the most, he has given them complete defensive dominance.

If you’re one of those people who half-arses it when it comes to opposition teams, it may be time to wake up and take notice. GWS have stormed into the top eight, with Taylor leading the way. He is averaging 10.8 intercepts per game and he adds 9.1 one-percenters per contest to those numbers as well. They’re ranked first and sixth in the league, respectively.

I don’t want to come across as some kind of mathematical genius here, but that is 19.9 contests per game that Taylor is either winning or halving… and that is bloody ridiculous!

He has four games this season where he has grabbed a Defensive Double-Double, including three of his last five games, where he has just backed himself in every contest. And the two games in that streak where he hasn’t notched double figures, he has missed by two one-percenters in Round 18 and one intercept in Round 19.

In fact, over the course of the last six games, Taylor has averaged 11.3 one-percenters and 10.83 intercepts. That is as dominant as defending gets in the modern game.

Only he and Darcy Moore are ranked in the top ten in the two big categories for key defenders (intercepts and one-percenters)

Giant Strides · Aug 5, 2023

Melbourne media slowly getting to understand ...

Coleman Medallist power ranks his top 10 current AFL players

Are these the top 10 players in the competition currently?

www.sen.com.au

Coleman Medallist Scott Cummings has power ranked his top 10 players in the AFL after Round 20.

Based on current form from their campaign so far, Cummings will release his rankings weekly on SEN WA Breakfast.

The former key forward discussed his top 10 and how the players are performing with co-host Tim Gossage.

10 - Sam Taylor

15

Sam Taylor

Age
26

Ht

198cm

Wt
95kg

Pos.
Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D
10.0

3

K
4.6

2

HB
5.4

4

M
3.3

3

T
2.1

4

MG
130.5

2

D
8.0

2

K
2.5

1

HB
5.5

3

M
2.8

3

T
2.5

3

MG
60.8

1

D
8.6

3

K
3.0

1

HB
5.6

4

M
1.2

2

T
2.8

5

MG
110.8

2

(GWS)
Previously unranked

Giant Strides · Aug 9, 2023

The player at your AFL club who has exceeded expectations in 2023

Your club’s biggest surprise packet.

www.sen.com.au

Kieren Briggs

Kieren Briggs started the season as the third choice ruckman at GWS when behind Braydon Preuss and Matthew Flynn in the pecking order. However, he has pushed himself firmly into Adam Kingsley’s plans in 2023 after playing just nine times across 2021 and 2022. The 23-year-old Briggs is averaging 15.4 disposals, 26.4 hit-outs, 6.3 clearance and 5.5 tackles across 11 matches for the Giants this campaign. He has been one of the form rucks in the competition since stepping into the side in Round 10, more than holding his own against the league’s very best.

Jack Buckley’s evolution into an elite key defender must be noted, while fellow backman Connor Idun’s improvement has taken some by surprise.

Andrew Slevison

MelbourneGWS · Aug 9, 2023

Definitely not a break out player this year, but according to News Limited, if Preuss plays well in his VFL match, he’s in line for an AFL game this season.

Coach Adam Kingsley

Adam Kingsley

Age
50

Ht

183cm

Wt
83kg

Pos.
Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D
16.9

4

K
11.5

4

HB
5.4

4

M
4.1

4

T
1.3

3

No current season stats available

D
16.4

4

K
10.4

4

HB
6.0

4

M
3.0

3

T
1.0

3

says the 28-year-old will enter selection calculations if he gets through the clash, as the Giants look at how to ease the burden on first-choice ruck Kieren Briggs while locking up a finals spot.

https://www.news.com.au/sport/afl/preuss-to-return-as-coach-praises-top-picks-best-game-yet/news-story/7b89d22db7599b75fd6c73ee75960978

Orange crush · Aug 10, 2023

MelbourneGWS said:
Definitely not a break out player this year, but according to News Limited, if Preuss plays well in his VFL match, he’s in line for an AFL game this season.

Coach Adam Kingsley says the 28-year-old will enter selection calculations if he gets through the clash, as the Giants look at how to ease the burden on first-choice ruck Kieren Briggs while locking up a finals spot.

https://www.news.com.au/sport/afl/preuss-to-return-as-coach-praises-top-picks-best-game-yet/news-story/7b89d22db7599b75fd6c73ee75960978

A Preuss/Briggs combo would be interesting

domologue · Aug 10, 2023

Orange crush said:
A Preuss/Briggs combo would be interesting

We certainly need a tall who can actually mark in a pack forward... And as much as we want him to be that, it's not in Riccardi's kit.

MelbourneGWS · Aug 10, 2023

3 Giants made the shortlist of 44 players for the best AFL under 22 players! Green, Callaghan and Ash

Trio Named in 22Under22 Squad

A trio of GIANTS have been listed in the AFL Players Association 22-Under-22 squad.

www.gwsgiants.com.au

Giant Strides · Aug 10, 2023

Hopefully all 3 of them make the side ... but I expect not. IIRC, Tom Green didn't get voted in last year. :drunk:

GWS Goose · Aug 10, 2023

Idun eligible?

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Prediction 2023 GWS Giants - Predicted best 22, breakout player(s), general player/team discussion & questions

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