Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Position: 10th (11-10)
Last season: 16th (6-16)
Players used: 39
What went right
The forward combination of Jeremy Cameron and Cam McCarthy. The Giants could have been forgiven for wondering where the goals were going to come from this season with the departure of Tom Boyd and the unavailability of Jonathon Patton due to a serious knee injury. But, despite his drop-off in form late in the season, McCarthy stood up on the whole to provide sound support for Cameron and the pair have combined for 96 goals heading into the final round – the third best return in the competition behind West Coast's Josh Kennedy and Mark LeCras (109) and Adelaide's Taylor Walker and Eddie Betts (108).
What went wrong
The Giants looked set for a maiden finals berth after round 10 as they sat in fifth spot on the ladder with a handsome 7-3 win-loss record. But then disaster struck in round 11 when key players Shane Mumford, Joel Patfull, Stephen Coniglio and Phil Davis all suffered injuries against Collingwood and were subjected to extended layoffs. It would prove to be too big a hurdle to overcome for the Giants as they ended up narrowly missing out on the top eight. As of round 22, Mumford, Davis, Patton, Rhys Palmer, Dylan Shiel, Tom Scully, Patfull and Coniglio have missed a combined total of 71 matches.
Shining lights
Heath Shaw and Callan Ward will take some beating for the quinella in the best-and-fairest count. Shaw is enjoying arguably the best season of his stellar career and is a strong chance to earn a maiden All-Australian gong in defence. The former Magpie has registered career-high disposals and rebound-50s and ranked near the top of the AFL for kicks, rebound-50s and bounces. And co-captain Ward has led by example yet again in the midfield with another outstanding season. The former Bulldog is also having a career-best year with personal highs in disposals, marks and inside-50s and needed seven tackles and three clearances against Melbourne on Sunday for personal bests in those categories as well. He managed to achieved them with seven tackles and eight clearances on Sunday. Ward is ranked first at GWS for contested possessions, inside-50s and clearances and second for disposals and tackles.
What's required to improve in 2016
The Giants just need a bit more luck on the injury front to take that next step and make the finals for the first time. The sheer weight of injuries was too much for the young side to cope with – particularly the absence of Mumford for the second half of the season. Their drive in the middle seemed to drop off dramatically without the influential ruckman. Injuries aside, coach Leon Cameron would be concerned by the fact that as of round 22, his team is ranked seventh in the league for tackling, 13th for clearances and 17th for contested possessions. The Giants have prided themselves on being a hard-at-it side in their short history and those numbers will no doubt will be a strong focus over the pre-season.
The headline we didn't expect
No Boyd, No Patton? No worries!
Grade: C+. This has been the Giants' best season and they could easily have a higher grade had they not been hit so hard by injuries.