The Greater Western Sydney Giants' 2015 season was its 4th season in the Australian Football League (AFL).
Club summary The 2015 AFL season was the 119th season of the VFL/AFL competition since its inception in 1897; having entered the competition in 2012, it was the 4th season contested by the Greater Western Sydney Giants. Spotless Stadium once again acted as the club's primary home ground, hosting eight of the club's eleven home games,Bring It On, Greater Western Sydney Giants official website, 30 October 2014 with three games played at their secondary home ground, StarTrack Oval in Canberra. The three matches at StarTrack Oval were against , the Gold Coast Suns and in rounds 2, 4 and 17 respectively.Best Ever Fixture For Canberra, Greater Western Sydney Giants official website, 30 October 2014
Because Spotless Stadium was unavailable for the first five rounds of the regular season due to its required use by the Sydney Royal Easter Show, the club played its first two home games in Canberra, while the first of the two annual Sydney Derbies against the Sydney Swans were played at the Sydney Cricket Ground in Round 3, with the Giants hosting the return fixture in Round 21.Swans v Giants Sydney derby in round three at SCG as cricket World Cup causes AFL fixture headaches, The Daily Telegraph, 22 October 2014 The club played , , , and twice during the regular season, and traveled interstate ten times (six times to Melbourne, twice to Perth and once each to the Gold Coast and Adelaide).
Major sponsors Virgin Australia and Lifebroker continued as the club's two major sponsors,Our Partners , Greater Western Sydney Fiants official website while BLK will manufacture the club's on-and-off field apparel for the next five seasons starting in 2015.GWS Giants partner with BLK , BLK Sport, 6 November 2014
Senior Personnel Leon Cameron continued as the club's head coach for the second consecutive season, while Callan Ward and Phil Davis continued as the club's co-captains for the fourth consecutive season. Both have held their respective positions since 2014 and 2012, respectively.
2015 player squad
Playing list changes The Giants underwent an overhaul of their playing list during the off-season, bringing in experienced players Joel Patfull and Ryan Griffen from the Brisbane Lions and Western Bulldogs, respectively, during the trade period.Lions defender Joel Patfull completes switch to GWS, AFL.com.au official website, 10 October 2014 In addition to Josh Hunt and Stephen Gilham announcing their retirements shortly before the conclusion of the regular season, the club also offloaded several key players, including the previous year's number one draft pick, Tom Boyd, who wanted to be traded to the Western Bulldogs after only one season at the Giants, Kristian Jaksch and Mark Whiley, who were both traded to , Jonathan Giles, who requested a trade home to South Australia but ultimately ended up at , and Sam Frost, who was traded to after also requesting a trade back to his home state.
The following summarises all player changes between the conclusion of the 2014 season and the commencement of the 2015 season.
In Player Previous club League via Joel Patfull Australian Football League AFL Trade Period Ryan GriffenGriffen and Boyd swap places in blockbuster trade, AFL.com.au official website, 15 October 2014 Australian Football League AFL Trade Period Jarrod Pickett South Fremantle Football Club WAFL AFL Draft Caleb Marchbank Murray Bushrangers TAC Cup AFL Draft Paul Ahern Calder Cannons TAC Cup AFL Draft Pat McKenna Gisborne Football Club Bendigo Football League AFL Draft Jack Steele Belconnen Football Club NEAFL AFL Draft
Out Player New Club League via Josh Hunt Retirement N/A N/A Stephen Gilham Retirement N/A N/A Jonathan O'RourkeO'Rourke Becomes A Hawk, GWS Giants Official Website, 9 October 2014 Australian Football League AFL Trade Period Kristian JakschGiants Jaksch and Whiley now in the navy blue, AFL.com.au official website, 15 October 2014 Australian Football League AFL Trade Period Mark Whiley Australian Football League AFL Trade Period Tom Boyd Australian Football League AFL Trade Period Jonathan GilesGiles now a Bomber as Dons replace Ryder. AFL.com.au official website, 16 October 2014 Australian Football League AFL Trade Period Sam Frost Australian Football League AFL Trade Period
Season summary Pre-season matches The club played three practice matches as part of the 2015 NAB Challenge, which were played under modified pre-season rules, including nine-point goals.
Rd Date and local time Opponent Scores (Greater Western Sydney's scores indicated in bold) Venue Attendance Home Away Result 1 Saturday, 7 March (4:10 pm) 0.14.10 (94) 2.6.4 (58) Won by 36 points Blacktown International Sportspark 1,787 2 Friday, 13 March (7:10 pm) 0.14.13 (97) 0.8.4 (52) Won by 45 points Spotless Stadium 2,505 3 Sunday, 22 March (1:10 pm) 0.9.13 (67) 0.11.7 (73) Lost by 6 points StarTrack Oval ??? Source
Premiership Season
Home and away season
Rd Date and local time Opponent Scores (Greater Western Sydney's scores indicated in bold) Venue Attendance Ladderposition Home Away Result 1 Sunday, 5 April (1:10 pm) 11.12 (78) 12.15 (87) Won by 9 points Etihad Stadium (A) 18,794 7th 2 Saturday, 11 April (2:10 pm) 15.11 (101) 8.8 (56) Won by 45 points StarTrack Oval (H) 7,760 3rd 3 Saturday, 18 April (4:35 pm) 16.15 (111) 12.18 (90) Lost by 21 points Sydney Cricket Ground (A) 31,966 7th 4 Saturday, 25 April (5:40 pm) 16.23 (119) 7.11 (53) Won by 66 points StarTrack Oval (H) 6,917 2nd 5 Saturday, 2 May (5:40 pm) 18.12 (120) 4.9 (33) Lost by 87 points Domain Stadium (A) 34,554 8th 6 Saturday, 9 May (4:35 pm) 16.12 (108) 14.14 (98) Won by 10 points Spotless Stadium (H) 13,556 6th 7 Saturday, 16 May (4:35 pm) 9.3 (57) 19.21 (135) Won by 78 points Etihad Stadium (A) 16,676 5th 8 Saturday, 23 May (2:10 pm) 16.12 (108) 12.12 (84) Won by 24 points Spotless Stadium (H) 9,481 4th 9 Saturday, 30 May (4:35 pm) 16.17 (113) 11.2 (68) Lost by 45 points Etihad Stadium (A) 16,395 5th 10 Sunday, 7 June (1:10 pm) 14.13 (97) 10.7 (67) Won by 30 points Spotless Stadium (H) 9,079 5th 11 Sunday, 14 June (1:10 pm) 18.11 (119) 11.11 (77) Lost by 42 points Melbourne Cricket Ground (A) 43,390 5th 12 Saturday, 20 June (4:35 pm) 8.13 (61) 18.9 (117) Lost by 56 points Spotless Stadium (H) 7,824 6th 13 Bye 14 Saturday, 4 July (1:40 pm) 10.18 (78) 10.9 (69) Lost by 9 points Melbourne Cricket Ground (A) 35,968 9th 15 Sunday, 12 July (1:10 pm) 12.12 (84) 6.13 (49) Won by 35 points Spotless Stadium (H) 9,178 8th 16 Saturday, 18 July (2:10 pm) 12.7 (79) 13.16 (94) Won by 15 points Metricon Stadium (A) 9,589 7th 17 Saturday, 25 July (1:45 pm) 6.6 (42) 9.15 (69) Lost by 27 points StarTrack Oval (H) 14,667 9th 18 Sunday, 2 August (2:40 pm) 12.12 (84) 9.9 (63) Lost by 21 points Domain Stadium (A) 34,626 10th 19 Sunday, 9 August (3:20 pm) 14.9 (93) 8.13 (61) Won by 32 points Spotless Stadium (H) 10,093 10th 20 Saturday, 15 August (4:05 pm) 16.15 (111) 13.12 (90) Lost by 21 points Adelaide Oval (A) 33,281 10th 21 Saturday, 22 August (2:10 pm) Spotless Stadium (H) 22 Saturday, 29 August (1:45 pm) Spotless Stadium (H) 23 TBD Etihad Stadium (A)
Ladder
Awards, Records & Milestones Awards Round 2: Prime Minister's Cup (AFL)
Records As 2015 was Greater Western Sydney's best season since the club was admitted to the competition, a large range of records and milestones were met and broken during the season: Round 1: Greater Western Sydney's first win over in a premiership match Greater Western Sydney's third consecutive away win Round 2: Greater Western Sydney's third consecutive win (club record) Highest score in any quarter: 9.2 (56) in the third quarter Highest score in any half: 13.5 (83) in the second half Biggest turnaround in a premiership match (78 points; were 33 points down in the second quarter, went on to win by 45) Round 4: Highest ladder placing after a completed round: 2nd Round 6: Greater Western Sydney's first win over in a premiership match Greater Western Sydney's first win against a defending premier Equal most goals kicked in a match by a Giants player: Jeremy Cameron (7.0, also kicked that many against in Round 18, 2013) Most goals kicked by in a match by a Giants player at Sydney Showground Stadium: Jeremy Cameron (7.0) Round 7: Greater Western Sydney's greatest winning margin (78 points) Greater Western Sydney's highest ever score (19.21 (135)) Round 8: Greater Western Sydney's best ever first quarter score (6.4 (40)) Greater Western Sydney's first win over in a premiership match Round 10: Greater Western Sydney's win over the Brisbane Lions was their seventh victory for the season, thus breaking the record for most wins in a single season.
Milestones Round 1: Ryan Griffen – First game for Greater Western Sydney Joel Patfull – First game for Greater Western Sydney Tomas Bugg – 50th AFL game Dylan Shiel – 50th AFL game Round 4: Rhys Palmer – 100th AFL game Round 6: Stephen Coniglio – 50th AFL game Round 9: Heath Shaw – 200th AFL game Round 12: Caleb Marchbank – AFL debut Jack Steele – AFL debut Round 16: Curtly Hampton – 50th AFL game Tom Scully – 100th AFL game Round 17: Adam Tomlinson – 50th AFL game
Brownlow Medal
Results Round 1 vote 2 votes 3 votes 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23
Brownlow Medal tally Player 1 vote games 2 vote games 3 vote games Total votes Total
italics denotes ineligible player
Tribunal cases Player Round Charge category Verdict Points Result Victim Club Ref(s) Devon Smith 7 Rough conductGuilty N/A$1,000 fine Bryce Gibbs
Notes "Points" refers to carry-over points accrued following the sanction. For example, 154.69 points draw a one-match suspension, with 54.69 carry-over points (for every 100 points, a one-match suspension is given).
References