For a club whose midfield was raided and AFL premiership window was supposedly closing, GWS Giants are looking surprisingly chipper.
A more consistently ferocious attack on the football led by a new-look midfield unit have helped propel GWS into their first grand final on Saturday against Richmond.
The increasing influence of hard-nosed youngsters Tim Taranto, Jacob Hopper and Harry Perryman, all of who had played under 50 senior games before the season started, and the emergence of a top-notch tagger in Matt de Boer have helped GWS overcome some major personnel losses from the end of last year and right through their 2019 campaign.
With the salary cap biting deep and stars Stephen Coniglio and Josh Kelly coming off contract this year, GWS traded other midfielders Dylan Shiel, Tom Scully Rory Lobb and Will Setterfield.
Once the 2019 season started their midfield stocks were soon depleted.
The biggest blow was losing co-captain Callan Ward, who played just a few minutes of one game before suffering a season-ending knee injury.
The hits kept coming, especially in the back half of the season.
They suffered another cruel blow with a knee injury to vice captain Stephen Coniglio depriving them of his services after round 17.
After the halfway point, de boer missed seven matches, Kelly five and Hopper three.
Forced to improvise by the amount of injuries, GWS coach Leon Cameron shifted Toby Greene and Zac Wiliams into the midfield in the latter part of the season, with the creative duo adding considerable spark
“It’s been challenging because we’ve had key personnel not being available for selection,” Giants” midfield coach Lenny Hayes told AAP.
“But on the other hand it’s been exciting because different guys have stepped up like Tim Taranto and Jacob Hopper and Harry Perryman.
“Then we’ve been able to add guys from different positions like Toby Greene and Zac Williams to come in and play different roles through the midfield.
“Also the other one is probably Matt de Boer, played predominantly forward last year, has come in and played a really vital role for us.
“He’s done really well, he’s almost got the perfect personality to play that role.
“He’s a deep thinker, he’s got a real attention to detail and he’s mentally tough and he’s very fit too.
“He’s evolved each week and got a little bit better. He’s very easy to coach because he’s really driven and he comes up with different ideas
“I’ve got no doubt if he ever wanted to go into coaching, he’d absolutely nail it, he’s a switched on guy, he knows footy and he knows people.”
Hayes praised the input of Ward, who has remained heavily involved despite not playing.
“The thing that has that has really stood out for me, and a lot of people wouldn’t have seen this, but just how involved Callan Ward has been,” Hayes said.
“He’s almost been like an extra coach. He takes our centre bounce meetings, he”s there on game day on the bench.
“I’m constantly talking to him and he’s referring messages on to the players. I’ve been really proud of the way that he has led even though he hasn’t been able to be out there.”
