As the first player to be on the books of both Sydney and Greater Western Sydney, ruckman Shane Mumford will add spice to the city’s AFL derby but coach Leon Cameron is more interested in his leadership skills.
The Giants revealed on Wednesday, a day after Hawthorn superstar Lance Franklin decided to sign with the Swans instead of the Giants, they had agreed to a three-year deal with Mumford.
The 27-year-old is coming off contract, meaning GWS can snaffle him with the No.1 pick in the pre-season draft if the two clubs are unable to agree on a trade.
However Cameron expected there would be no issue working out a suitable deal with the Swans and that Mumford would officially become a Giant during the trade period, which starts on Monday.
It’s understood Mumford was weighing up a lucrative offer from Hawthorn, but was keen to stay in Sydney.
With the Swans lacking salary cap space after their million-dollar nine-year deal for Franklin, they couldn’t come close to the Giants’ offer.
Mumford won’t match Franklin for marketing clout but the premiership ruckman is a signing that will be warmly welcomed by Jonathan Giles, who carried GWS’s ruck burden for the vast majority of their second season.
“We’ve always said throughout the year that we’d target a big ruckman. That was our No.1 priority,” Cameron told AAP.
“We’ve been in discussions with Shane for a couple of weeks. We met up wit him on three or four occasions … it’s just fantastic for our footy club that he sees the Giants as his new home.”
Mumford is arguably the most important mature-age signing in the club’s short history, and joins co-captain Callan Ward and ex-Hawthorn defender Stephen Gilham as the only Giants to have played 100 AFL games.
Cameron rated not only the ruck skills of Mumford, but the guidance and experience he would be able to impart from time spent at Geelong and Sydney – two of the league’s most successful teams in recent years.
“Coming out of a strong Sydney system, where their actions are very important on the field and off the field,” Cameron said, adding he expects him to be a leader.
“He’s been in two very, very good environments and no doubt that’s going to help our young midfielders and our young ruckmen.
“You look at the whole package … you look at what he can provide on the field and off the field in terms of leadership.”
Mumford, who was rookie listed by the Cats in 2007 and traded to the Swans at the end of the 2009 season, said he was thrilled to join the Giants.
“They have a talented young midfield and it’s a great opportunity to help them go to the next level and achieve on-field success,” he said.