Giants on the Brink? Injury Woes Raise Premiership Doubts for GWS
The Greater Western Sydney (GWS) Giants, a team that has consistently shown its mettle by reaching the finals for three consecutive seasons, may be approaching a critical juncture. Footy commentator Kane Cornes has voiced concerns that the current playing group might have reached its ceiling, with a spate of pre-season injuries casting a shadow over their premiership aspirations.
The Giants have only once before vied for the coveted AFL flag, a 2019 Grand Final that many associated with the club would prefer to leave in the past. Despite this solitary grand final appearance, GWS has demonstrated remarkable resilience and consistency, becoming one of only two clubs, alongside the formidable Brisbane Lions, to feature in the last three finals series. While the Lions are widely tipped to contend for the premiership again in 2026, the Giants’ prospects appear more uncertain.
Cornes, who had initially held a degree of optimism for the Giants’ chances this season under coach Adam Kingsley, has seen his confidence waver. “I didn’t have high aspirations,” Cornes admitted on SEN radio. “I think they are going to be top six-ish… I thought that. Are they going to be that now? It’s going to be hard. I’ve said this a couple of times, has this group gone as far as this group is going to go?”
The growing injury list is a significant factor in Cornes’s apprehension. Key players such as Josh Kelly (hip), Toby Bedford (hamstring), and Finn Callaghan (hip flexor) are all expected to be sidelined for several weeks, missing crucial preparation time, including a recent simulation match. Compounding these issues, the Giants will be without star midfielder Tom Green for the entire season following an ACL injury. Further concerns exist around Brent Daniels and Cody Angove, both nursing hamstring complaints.
This extensive list of unavailable players forces coach Kingsley to rely more heavily on emerging talent. However, this reliance on less experienced players is precisely what fuels Cornes’s reservations. “They go from guaranteed stars to unknowns really quickly,” he explained. “Like Rowston – is he a good player or not? I don’t know, we need to see more of it and we are going to see more of it. But when you line them up with other top six-ranked teams, they are going to be beaten more regularly than they were in the middle.”
Cornes then elaborated on his primary fear for the club, drawing a parallel with another Sydney-based team. “With the age [of the squad], what happens if it doesn’t work out for them this year? Is it going to be a cliff situation [like the Sydney Swans]? That would be my fear for the Giants. Toby Greene and all of the senior players that we know have taken this group as far as they are going to go. Very good, very close, but not good enough. Is there going to have to be a change of strategy at the end of the year? They’ve lost a lot of depth. That would be my fear for them.”
Despite these concerns, the Giants still have one more pre-season hit-out before the official season commences. They are scheduled to face their cross-town rivals, the Sydney Swans, at Henson Park on Thursday. The Opening Round for the Giants will see them host the Hawthorn Hawks on March 7th, a match that will offer an early indication of their resilience in the face of adversity. The club’s ability to navigate these injury challenges and integrate new talent will be crucial in determining whether they can defy the doubters and continue their finals streak, or if they will indeed find themselves teetering on the edge of a significant rebuild.
