How did the AFL get the Giants so right?!

[Dr Awkward]

Obviously there are a lot of factors.

One of them though is that they are in Sydney which has made it easier to retain players. People like living in Sydney.

 

[mouncey2franklin]

Sheedy did more harm than good off the field....

In what way?

 

[smashbox gill]

Will prob get attacked for this. But a key reason is SOS list management.

Compared to GC he nailed their pre draft selections with Shiel, Treloar, Cameron etc

Then drafted excellently - Greene, Kelly, Coniglio etc

Bringing in players like James McDonald, Chad Cornes, Mumford, Ward etc to set the culture and provide cover for the young players

 

[Bunk Moreland]

Leadership. Kevin Sheedy, Mark Williams, Chad Cornes, Dean Brogan, Luke Power, Anthony McDonald, Phil Davis, Callan Ward.

GC never had a single natural leader among all their players and had an untried coach.

You can throw teenage talent at anything. It doesn’t matter unless you guide them. They’re kids ffs. Literally kids.

And to think the AFL are STILL - 10 years later - throwing priority draft picks at GC. As if it will make the slightest difference. It’s just mind boggling.

 

[Judd2Sewell]

You of all people should know it doesn’t just happen with talent

Yes, development, culture and coaching plays a large part. But you need talent to develop, help implement the culture and coach.

It would be criminal for a team with the sheer amount of top end talent that they were given to not compete in Grand Finals.

 

[Black Panther]

People like living in Sydney

Lucy Zelic says it is a shithole

 

[Dr Awkward]

Will prob get attacked for this. But a key reason is SOS list management.

Compared to GC he nailed their pre draft selections with Shiel, Treloar, Cameron etc

Then drafted excellently - Greene, Kelly, Coniglio etc

Bringing in players like James McDonald, Chad Cornes, Mumford, Ward etc to set the culture and provide cover for the young players

You can't really criticise who the suns have actually drafted though. They just haven't retained them.

If they still had Lynch, O'Meara, Prestia, Caddy, May etc they'd be a good side.

 

[Dr Awkward]

I think the Giants and Suns are an example of the snowball culture effect. Good culture leads to winning, which leads to club being a destination club, which leads to player retention and more winning etc.

Suns have just rolled off down the wrong path. Meanwhile Giants get Coniglio signing for 7 years, massive show of faith.

Suns should be looking to Brisbane, who were in a similar pickle a couple of years ago but improved their culture, built back up fairly quickly.

 

[Asapartyhat]

 

[NSWCROW]

Didn't put all their eggs in 1 basket like the Suns did.

VERY smartly put together club

 

[greatgatsby]

Off the field they are well managed and they market themselves well. In Canberra they have recognised they can tap into a core of AFL fans (the ACT is close to 50-50 rugby codes and aussie rules) and they have found it easier there than in western Sydney. Means amongst other things that crowds have held up this year while the Canberra Raiders are heading to the Grand Final. Never ceases to amaze me how footy fans in Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide underestimate the difficulty of working in a hostile market (western Sydney in this case).

None of this has anything to do with draft concessions.

 

[emuboy]

The GWS Giants have been able to tap into the Canberra and southern regional New South Wales markets where AFL is popular as well as Western Sydney, and have made the most of the Western vs. Eastern Sydney rivalry with the Swans.

As for the Gold Coast, they started promisingly enough but fell away from 2015 onwards. The South Queensland region should be able to support two AFL teams, but maybe AFL fans in the area stayed loyal to the Lions because Gold Coast are not going well. But for some reason professional sporting teams on the Gold Coast have struggled for years, with only the battling Suns and Titans Rugby League team still left.

 

[demondavey]

Yes, development, culture and coaching plays a large part. But you need talent to develop, help implement the culture and coach.

It would be criminal for a team with the sheer amount of top end talent that they were given to not compete in Grand Finals.

Gold Coast?

 

[BIRDBRAIN]

I got a ticket for the prelim because my good friend is a GWS member (she worked for them early on) - There was a fans meet up at The Imperial on Spring St before the game. They gave people who had a ticket to the game and a club membership for any other team a free beer and a piece of GWS merch to get them on their bandwagon. Steven Coniglio was around for a bit too so obviously the club were right behind it. I sat in the Giants cheersquad behind the goals. Was one of the funnest games of footy I've been to in ages (probably helped having no real stake in the game but the atmosphere in the last ten mins was crazy)

Well there you have it, from the horses mouth. GWS fans actually ARE paid shills, they even get provided the gear to dress up in before they get sent in. LMAO.

 

[greatgatsby]

Well there you have it, from the horses mouth. GWS fans actually ARE paid shills, they even get provided the gear to dress up in before they get sent in. LMAO.

It's called growing the game! I can understand as an Eagles fan how you can't comprehend but try getting out more.

 

[Black Panther]

You can't really criticise who the suns have actually drafted though. They just haven't retained them.

If they still had Lynch, O'Meara, Prestia, Caddy, May etc they'd be a good side.

Drafting pretty ordinary really considering all the picks they had

Previous SUNS - goldcoastfc.com.au

www.goldcoastfc.com.au

Lynch the best of the lot, but the rest of them "good ordinary players" and not outright A grade stars the GWS guys have become

They had 8 of the Top 13 picks in 2010

1. D Swallow - good plodder
2. Bennell - heh
3. Sam Day - meh
7. Caddy - decent, but not a superstar
8. Prestia - see Caddy
9. Gorringe - spud
10. Lynch - best of them
13. Tape - spud

to add to the pillaging of the best 17 year olds in the country the year before

Maverick Weller
Luke Russell
Matt Shaw
Trent McKenzie
Josh Toy
Hayden Jolley
Alex Keath
Brandon Matera
Tom Nicholls
Taylor Hine
Jack Hutchins
Piers Flanagan

None of them have developed into A graders

and their subsequent drafting has been just as ordinary

 

[Blackhawk42]

They did all of this correctly and then managed to stuff up grand final day by making them wear white for no reason...

 

[BIRDBRAIN]

They did all of this correctly and then managed to stuff up grand final day by making them wear white for no reason...

They're wearing white why?

 

[Ghost Patrol]

They're wearing white why?

It looks better than orange

 

[BIRDBRAIN]

It looks better than orange

I was thinking it was symbolic of them losing their GF virginity.

 

[Blackhawk42]

They're wearing white why?

No idea. Ridiculous decision.

 

[Evolved1]

Sheedy got them setup for success. Basically copy and pasted the strategy from Essendon. You still get a bit of an old Essendon vibe about them. Bigger market obviously. Better recruiting strategy - went for youth and didn’t go for the marquee player. Bit more luck.

If only Essendon would follow this "strategy from Essendon".

 

[Evolved1]

They were supposed to be an unbeatable superteam according to many.

In fairness, they should be with their playing list. The missing link is the right coach imo.

 

[Evolved1]

The song is cringe and their jumper is atrocius

Best song in the league, but I agree the jumper sucks. Opposite to WC really, who have the best jumper and worst song.

 

[Americanpies]

It's location.

Gold Coast - Party Zone

Greater Western Sydney - Blue Collar work Zone

Players going to one of them .. party... players going to the other... roll the sleeves up.