List Mgmt. 2024 GWS Giants List Management - Academy, Free Agent, Trade & Draft

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The 2023 National Draft and Pre-season & Rookie Drafts have been run and won, so it's time to look forward to the 2024 season of list management.

Here's the current list statistics:
  • main list = 37
  • rookie A list = 5
  • rookie B list = 2
  • Total = 44
Players OOC at the end of season 2024 - Free Agents are marked * (I'll update & remove players as they re-sign with GWS):
  • Aaron Cadman - re-signed 19/12/23
  • Callan Ward *
  • Ryan Angwin
  • Brayden Preuss
  • Isaac Cumming *
  • Conor Stone
  • Nick Haynes *
  • Jesse Hogan - re-signed 3/4/24
  • Lachlan Keeffe *
  • Harry Perryman *
Rookie lists:
  • James Peatling
  • Adam Kennedy *
  • Cooper Hamilton
  • Nick Madden (B) - re-signed 10/4/24
  • Nathan Wardius (B) - re-signed 10/4/24
Here's the 2024 picks based on rolling ladder order (no-one for GWS to really deathride this year, just the Blues to a small extent):
NOTE: Lore hasn't updated the traded picks from draft night yet, so the Blues' third round pick yet to be added.

 
Last edited:
In good shape for out of contract players.
The ball will be in our court for most of these the only ones we will have to fight for (and I think most will stay)
Cadman
Perryman
Cumming
Hogan

I'd love to have them locked up by Rnd 1
 
GWS Goose said:
In good shape for out of contract players.
The ball will be in our court for most of these the only ones we will have to fight for (and I think most will stay)
Cadman
Perryman
Cumming
Hogan

I'd love to have them locked up by Rnd 1
Click to expand...
I’d think Carmen is the only real concern among those and even then I’m 95% sure he’ll be resigned
 

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  • Aaron Cadman - might be drawn to the bright lights & big crowds, but probably re-signs for at least another 2 first.
  • Callan Ward - probably his last - celebrate the farewell of a champion in style
  • Ryan Angwin - meh, don’t care
  • Brayden Preuss - meh, don’t care
  • Isaac Cumming - depends on game time & role I reckon. Probably stays but wouldn’t be surprised if he left
  • Conor Stone - meh, don’t care
  • Nick Haynes - 1 more year on a significantly smaller wage (even rookied?) 1 club player
  • Jesse Hogan - not going anywhere. At his 3rd club & finally settled. Will finish his career with us
  • Lachlan Keeffe - retire
  • Harry Perryman - can’t see Pez leaving, would be the biggest shock of the lot if he did.
Rookie lists:
  • James Peatling - another year rookied for depth? Maybe delisted (which would be sad) Can’t see another club being interested. Maybe takes Lloyd’s spot & shines.
  • Adam Kennedy - I want Kenners to stay, he’s my favourite Giant. Personal bias precludes objective analysis.
  • Cooper Hamilton - depends on injury & media stardom, probably gets another
  • Nick Madden (B) - ruck future, will be retained
  • Nathan Wardius (B) - not a fan of bringing in someone for only a year then getting rid of them - probably gets another.
 
Ichabod Noodle said:
  • Aaron Cadman - might be drawn to the bright lights & big crowds, but probably re-signs for at least another 2 first.
  • Callan Ward - probably his last - celebrate the farewell of a champion in style
  • Ryan Angwin - meh, don’t care
  • Brayden Preuss - meh, don’t care
  • Isaac Cumming - depends on game time & role I reckon. Probably stays but wouldn’t be surprised if he left
  • Conor Stone - meh, don’t care
  • Nick Haynes - 1 more year on a significantly smaller wage (even rookied?) 1 club player
  • Jesse Hogan - not going anywhere. At his 3rd club & finally settled. Will finish his career with us
  • Lachlan Keeffe - retire
  • Harry Perryman - can’t see Pez leaving, would be the biggest shock of the lot if he did.
Rookie lists:
  • James Peatling - another year rookied for depth? Maybe delisted (which would be sad) Can’t see another club being interested. Maybe takes Lloyd’s spot & shines.
  • Adam Kennedy - I want Kenners to stay, he’s my favourite Giant. Personal bias precludes objective analysis.
  • Cooper Hamilton - depends on injury & media stardom, probably gets another
  • Nick Madden (B) - ruck future, will be retained
  • Nathan Wardius (B) - not a fan of bringing in someone for only a year then getting rid of them - probably gets another.
Click to expand...
I’m sure Hamilton has changed his body shape… lost a few kegs. It’ll be interesting to see him against Bedford in the time trial.
 
Ichabod Noodle said:
  • Aaron Cadman - might be drawn to the bright lights & big crowds, but probably re-signs for at least another 2 first.
  • Callan Ward - probably his last - celebrate the farewell of a champion in style
  • Ryan Angwin - meh, don’t care
  • Brayden Preuss - meh, don’t care
  • Isaac Cumming - depends on game time & role I reckon. Probably stays but wouldn’t be surprised if he left
  • Conor Stone - meh, don’t care
  • Nick Haynes - 1 more year on a significantly smaller wage (even rookied?) 1 club player
  • Jesse Hogan - not going anywhere. At his 3rd club & finally settled. Will finish his career with us
  • Lachlan Keeffe - retire
  • Harry Perryman - can’t see Pez leaving, would be the biggest shock of the lot if he did.
Rookie lists:
  • James Peatling - another year rookied for depth? Maybe delisted (which would be sad) Can’t see another club being interested. Maybe takes Lloyd’s spot & shines.
  • Adam Kennedy - I want Kenners to stay, he’s my favourite Giant. Personal bias precludes objective analysis.
  • Cooper Hamilton - depends on injury & media stardom, probably gets another
  • Nick Madden (B) - ruck future, will be retained
  • Nathan Wardius (B) - not a fan of bringing in someone for only a year then getting rid of them - probably gets another.
Click to expand...
Cadman leaving after signing a 2 year extension would be nothing short of a huge disaster and a borderline fireable offence, Caruso and co have done really well and have a lot of credits in the bank imo but that would be a catastrophe. They specifically picked and traded lots of capital for him because they were confident he would stay long-term and overlooked better prospects with retention concerns to select him. Do think he stays and would like to think a contract is sorted out before the season starts like Finn and Green's were. Everything else I'm probably with you on, Cumming could definitely go to another team and be a valuable player but he might be content in Sydney, could see Peatling being gone especially if some of the young smalls come on.
 
Now we've done the Crom a solid, is there any way that they could dump EH and us pick him up in the SPP or something? Not sure how all that works
 
Hendo_21 said:
Cadman leaving after signing a 2 year extension would be nothing short of a huge disaster and a borderline fireable offence,
Click to expand...

sorry, what I meant was that he signs for two more, plays for two more (& maybe even 2 after that) and then might look elsewhere - ala Taranto. Didn’t mean he signs and then walks. Just not sure yet if he’s a 200 game 1 club player.
 
Ward, Haynes, Keefe and Kenners to retire. Which means the current picks look light on. EH as an FA offsets one of those. Could see a trade out to get additional picks. I reckon Stone and Angwin will be safe regardless of how their season goes. Preuss' nine lives must be running out. I suspect Cumming will get some good offers, much better than what ours will be.
 
Hi guys, great dealings between our clubs at draft night everyone’s a winner

Seems foregone conclusion you guys will get Elliot Himmelberg next year as a FA

What band compo would you get for Cumming ? I’d hope we ask the question of him , he idolises Tex and a chance to play with him might help
Plus I think he’s get midfield minutes , with your stacked midfield he’ll struggle for that

Thoughts? If band 2 would you let him walk
 
GWS Goose said:
Don't think Haynes is done yet
Click to expand...
Would be fine with Haynes coming back obviously on a lower contract but he was still legitimately good last year but his replacement just happens to be AA calibre, he has some flexibility to play on the wing as well. At this stage you could probably get away with just 1 year contracts and take it year by year.
 
Viva la Mattner said:
Hi guys, great dealings between our clubs at draft night everyone’s a winner

Seems foregone conclusion you guys will get Elliot Himmelberg next year as a FA

What band compo would you get for Cumming ? I’d hope we ask the question of him , he idolises Tex and a chance to play with him might help
Plus I think he’s get midfield minutes , with your stacked midfield he’ll struggle for that

Thoughts? If band 2 would you let him walk
Click to expand...
Rated super high. I reckon he might move onto the wing this year and play a really strong role for us.
Our backline is just so solid with Perryman, Whitfield and Ash and he's got the pace and class to do some damage on a wing.
I can't see the Giants letting him go cheap.
 

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Viva la Mattner said:
Hi guys, great dealings between our clubs at draft night everyone’s a winner

Seems foregone conclusion you guys will get Elliot Himmelberg next year as a FA

What band compo would you get for Cumming ? I’d hope we ask the question of him , he idolises Tex and a chance to play with him might help
Plus I think he’s get midfield minutes , with your stacked midfield he’ll struggle for that

Thoughts? If band 2 would you let him walk
Click to expand...
I would say he has solid attributes to play wing but his best position is as a defender

He is someone I would be very surprised to lose unless for some reason this year he is knocked from the 22. I imagine it would take a decent contract to pry him loose cos we wouldn’t want to lose a player like him
 
Viva la Mattner said:
Hi guys, great dealings between our clubs at draft night everyone’s a winner

Seems foregone conclusion you guys will get Elliot Himmelberg next year as a FA

What band compo would you get for Cumming ? I’d hope we ask the question of him , he idolises Tex and a chance to play with him might help
Plus I think he’s get midfield minutes , with your stacked midfield he’ll struggle for that

Thoughts? If band 2 would you let him walk
Click to expand...
Will Tex even be around in 2025?

I can’t see us losing him to be honest … unless we see him as replaceable and want the picks
 
AFL Draft: How does the AFL solve the complex issue plaguing its list management battles

By JAY CLARK

NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA SPORTS NEWSROOM

26 NOVEMBER 2023

In the spaghetti bowl of list management conundrums in football, things have hardly ever been more contentious and complex regarding academy rules, father-son selections, special assistance compensation packages and free agency domination.

In an era where the AFL has desperately tried to level the playing field under the equalisation banner, football’s list management battleground has become lumpier than your pop’s custard.

And this week, the trench lines were dug even deeper as the sun finally started to rise on the Gold Coast Football Club which hasn’t won so much as a chook raffle in 13 years in the AFL.

When the phone calls flew around on Monday afternoon between Victoria’s list managers, the war cry was put out – don’t bid on any of the Suns’ four academy stars in an attempt to make a mockery of the academy system some believed was broken away.

And now as part of the AFL’s review into the competitive balance and list management mechanisms, clubs from footy’s heartland states want northern club academies stripped of their 20 per cent discount, or equal rights in their own next generation academies.

It means northern-states would pay a steeper price for academy jets such as Jed Walter, Ethan Read, Jake Rogers and Will Graham, who were this week likened to West Coast premiership greats Josh Kennedy, Dean Cox and Daniel Kerr.

While the four northern clubs have free rein on their local stars – the 14 other clubs with next generation academies can’t take any of their own inside the first 40 picks.

That part of it, said one list manager this week, was “a debacle staring the entire game in the face”.

But club officials from the northern academies openly laugh at what they label “blatant hypocrisy” from the heartland states.

The franchise clubs are routinely lambasted for losing interstate talents at trade time, and then when they finally begin to develop stars from their own backyard, emergency flares are shot up over the game.

Meanwhile, Western Bulldogs this week quietly pocketed another father-son key position player – Jordan Croft – as part of a golden pipeline which in recent years has included pick two Sam Darcy, premiership onballer Tom Liberatore, Mitch Wallis and Rhylee West.

Plus, there’s the Framlingham academy star who led to huge change in the next generation academy system – pick one Jamarra Ugle-Hagan.

North Melbourne in September also received another three first-round draft picks as special assistance and will next year start the 2024 season with 17 first-round draft picks on their list.

Collingwood also hit the father-son jackpot nabbing premiership captain Darcy Moore and Nick Daicos, who one senior official said this week “could be one of the greatest players of the modern era”.

Yet in blunt terms, Suns’ officials this week questioned why the grenades were being lobbed at Gold Coast at the end of one of the game’s most dismal eras which has averaged six wins a season over 13 years, featured zero finals appearances and in September led to the club’s fourth coach – Damien Hardwick.

Pot meet kettle, the Suns said.

Similarly the battle for the GWS Giants is a long way from being won.

GWS has had considerably more success on the field than the Suns, after this year falling one point short of premiers Collingwood in the preliminary final.

But there is another big difference.

The game is flying so much in South–East Queensland in juniors that the region has outpaced South Australia at grassroots level, and in the words of Suns’ chief executive Mark Evans “we are starting to chase down the NRL for participation in Queensland”.

Compare that to GWS where it has only two players from Western Sydney – James Peatling and Kieren Briggs – on its list.

And its attendances this year – even with free four-for-one ticket giveaways throughout the season – were alarming.

COVID-19 had a huge impact on the club’s momentum in the area.

And without New South Wales talent on the list, the Giants have in the past had to pay ridiculous money for top-end or even middling players and then face the consequences when it is time to correct the salary cap.

Compare that to the Geelong Cats whose annual turnover of Geelong Falcons players and other locals is up there with the soaring interest rates.

And then when it comes to the free agency race, the big Melbourne clubs clearly hold the aces. The welcome mats are out everywhere for Ben King, who is adamant he is staying up north.

So, the frustrations in the game’s list management space are at an all-time high, and as Evans said this week “it is a lot easier to stay at the top than it is to rise up from the bottom”.

Big tweaks, such as pick purchasing, a mid-season trade period and certainly the academy, are coming to help restore some evenness to the game without having to hand out three first-round draft picks to help a smaller club compete.

From that perspective, the biggest winner of this year’s draft has to be the AFL.

Two of its worst-performed clubs, the Suns and Roos, had four of the first nine players picked in last week’s draft, and nine of the first 26.

That’s 34.6 per cent of the top 26 talents funnelled to two clubs. An extraordinary return.

West Coast chose to have only one in the first round – Harley Reid – after knocking back multiple first-round picks for the top choice – and missed out on academy star Lance Collard (pick 28 to St Kilda).

The Suns, who ended Stuart Dew’s contract with one year to run to appoint Hardwick, are optimistic the club is in a much a better place now than when it lost co-captains Tom Lynch and Steven May in 2018, and effectively had to start all over again.

So the needle is moving for the Suns. But now the headwinds of a different kind have whipped up as rival clubs question – and try to change – the academy system.

Evans is adamant the northern academies are crucial to the whole health of the game, not just the Suns, Giants, Swans and Lions.

“If northern academies get kids and their families connected to the sport and add to the talent pool and Gold Coast enjoys the benefits of having homegrown players, it should be applauded,” Evans said.

“The traditional (footy) states have great depth of community footy and coaching and private school programs and better talent competitions than our regions.

“So the programs for those more talented kids in the northern states are delivered by the academies. If the academies don’t run, then those kids will focus on other sports.

“So what it really means is the debate should be about the system and the ways clubs can obtain academy players to their list.

“It is OK to review that in my opinion, but any review must be completed through a wider lens of competitive balance and the total ocean of advantage and disadvantage in the AFL.

“In reality, there are very few genuine advantages for cubs in an expansion market.

“You’ve got the go-home factor, the father-sons, attracting free agents and trades if you are in the lower half of the ladder, the salary cap, bigger crowds, better stadiums, home advantage in a grand final, travel and the fixture.

“So, if you want to look at competitive advantage in its totality, we have to throw all of those factors into the mix, and some of them you might not be able to change.

“We should always review and chase something that is better.”

In essence, would the Victorian clubs be happy to wind back the northern academies, or remove their 20 per cent discount for Walter for example, if the father-sons are more restricted?

Or if the grand final was moved every second year? That won’t happen, but the Suns’ point is valid. They’re up against it.

So are the Giants for their crowd numbers. The cost of living in Sydney is a huge factor for the Swans. The Cost of Living Allowance was removed and the club temporarily banned from trading.

To say it remains a sore point is an understatement.

But the Andrew Dillon era has arrived.

The AFL’s new chief executive brought in Round zero to start the season in the northern states.

The game needs a kick-along rather than another set of handcuffs north of the Murray River, those clubs say.

Fifteen of the last 17 premiership teams are Victorian.

In 2016, GWS lost the Albury and Murray River region from its academy zone amid searing pressure from Victorian clubs to water down the franchise club’s advantages.

Former Collingwood president Eddie McGuire was on a rampage at the time.

Yet the Giants continue to whack away in regional parts of New South Wales to not only grow the game, but find the needle in the haystack in terms of top-tier talent.

The club spends upwards of $1.7 million a year on its academy program to operate, setting up satellite footy bases in Broken Hill, Blacktown, Canberra, Wagga Wagga and Albury to run clinics and programs.

This week, the club was responsible for one of the biggest surprises of the draft, taking lively forward Phoenix Gothard at pick 12, when some rivals didn’t have him in their top-30.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the athletic forward is from New South Wales, which is part of why he was the best fit rather than the best available.

Best fit for the club and the game style. It was brave recruiting.

Football manager Jason McCartney said he was bemused by some of the commentary this week at Gold Coast’s academy kids, knowing full well the fight the northern clubs face.

“The academies are crucial for us for a number of reasons but clearly the retention piece is a big one, because everyone has seen what we have had to do in the past few trade periods,” he said.

“You look at the Victorian clubs, they have a high percentage of local Victorian talent on their lists.

“We need more New South Wales players on our list. We have three players from Sydney.

“That means the other 41 players have moved to play footy for us.

“So what you are dealing with every year is other clubs targeting those Victorian and interstate boys on our list to go home.

“And we just don’t have that coming back the other way.

“There are not enough New South Wales players in the competition that we can target in a trade or free agency scenario coming back home.

“So they (academies) are playing an important role, but the reality is we are only just scratching the surface, there is still a long way to go and a lot of work to be done.”
 

Aaron Cadman is set to sign a new deal with the Giants in the coming months as coach Adam Kingsley talked up the potential of the former No.1 Draft pick.
Cadman found himself out of the Giants’ best 22 in their run to the preliminary final last season but has already spoken of his desire to play a larger role in the future.
And the 19-year-old received a huge endorsement from his coach with the two parties very close to finalising terms on a new long-term deal.
“He’s a massive part of our future,” Kingsley said. “He’s a big key forward who can win the ball on the ground and in the air.
“I think he complements who we have up there at the moment, and I see him in years to come taking over and being the man.
“We’re keen to lock him away quickly and quite excited about what he’s going to be as a Giants player.”
Cadman (R) is primed to play a big role in [PLAYERCARD]Adam Kingsley[/PLAYERCARD]’s side going forward. Picture: Phil Hillyard

Cadman (R) is primed to play a big role in Adam Kingsley’s side going forward. Picture: Phil Hillyard
Cadman is one of several players looking to force their way into contention for the season opener against Collingwood.
The Giants’ stability was a huge asset in 2023 and they’re set to have a similar look next year, besides Harry Himmelberg’s fresh blonde hair — “I’m not gonna sit here and say I’m a huge fan, it’s a bit different but each to their own,” Kingsley said.
But the second-year coach has been impressed by the work ethic of his fringe players as they look to atone for their preliminary final heartache.
Harry Himmelberg’s new look hasn’t quite appealed to his coach. Picture: Phil Hillyard

Harry Himmelberg’s new look hasn’t quite appealed to his coach. Picture: Phil Hillyard
“The guys who weren’t necessarily a staple part of the team towards the back end of the season have come back hungry and they’re in good shape,” Kingsley said.
“They’ll put pressure on the guys who finished in the team last year. As we know, year-to-year teams change so I’m sure we’ll have a couple of new faces in our team to start the season.
“We won’t train over the summer focusing on that game, it’s always centred around the season as a whole. But it’s a massive game to open the season.
“It’s a wonderful initiative that the AFL has come up with opening the season here and in Queensland and a big game on Saturday night against the reigning premiers is a good as we could have asked for.”
One of the first hurdles for the Giants this pre-season was reviewing their one-point loss to the Pies in September.
The squad gathered on Monday for over an hour as they dissected key moments from the match. While it became a hard watch at times, Kingsley is confident that it will motivate the group for 2024.
[PLAYERCARD]Adam Kingsley[/PLAYERCARD] is confident his side has the tools to bounce back from their preliminary final loss. Picture: Phil Hillyard

Adam Kingsley is confident his side has the tools to bounce back from their preliminary final loss. Picture: Phil Hillyard
“The key messaging was our game stacks up against the best which was Collingwood last year,” Kingsley said. “We’re confident that the way we play is the right way, particularly in finals. We just didn’t maximise a few moments during that game.

“We brought in five young guys who we’ll bring up to speed … but everyone else in the squad has played that way for 12 months now. So, we feel like we’ve got a good grounding of how we want to play. It’s now just a matter of doing it slightly better in all phases.​

“I think everyone’s quite excited, including the older more experienced guys who led the way last year, and they’re ready to try and improve again and take us further into the finals.
“Although we were pleased with our season last year as a whole, we were disappointed with the way that it finished. But there’s nothing that we can do about that now, we’ve got to get to work and try and recreate that next year.”

END OF ARTICLE CLIP

"Long Term" could mean a bit longer than 2 years, wouldn't have an issue at all with it being 3/4 years.
 
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