GWS co-captain Phil Davis is “very confident” the Giants will be able to retain their out of contract stars.
Josh Kelly, Stephen Coniglio, Adam Tomlinson, Nick Haynes, Matt Buntine, Jacob Hopper and Harry Himmelberg are some notable GWS players on expiring deals, and Davis believes the club has the culture that’ll attract them to stay.
“I think we've got a place here that people really like to play and if you look at the names coming up this year, I’m very confident we will be able to keep all of them,” Davis told SEN Breakfast.
“There’s no doubt the good thing about having a lot of great players is there’s always people who are interested. We understand that.
“Josh is a great example of someone who every time he gets near out of contract, it gets spoken about because he is such a good player.
“We have had a relatively great ability to retain players, especially ones we have targeted to keep over the journey.”
The Giants have seen marquee players depart the club before, including Dylan Shiel and Tom Scully this past offseason.
Despite the numerous past GWS stars floating around the competition, Davis doesn’t think the club is easier to steal talent off than others.
“I think every club going forward with the free agency rules and the ability for clubs to trade are vulnerable. Are we more so than the next person? Probably not,” he said.
“It’s becoming a part of the game. The movement has increased, unfortunately for us, we have probably been hindered by that more than others purely because of how the list builds were.
“The salary cap is doing its job because it’s forcing players out who want greater money and greater opportunity elsewhere. That’s what has happened.
“It’s no doubt difficult when you say goodbye to quality players like a Dylan Shiel, who have also been lifelong Giants people.
“We have been able to get some great quality through the door and some young first year players in particular.
“For us, the most important bit is the second, third, fourth year players who have been on the fringe improving and taking the opportunity that is there now.”
Listen to Phil Davis’ chat with Sam Edmund and Tim Watson on SEN Breakfast in the player below