David King and Gerard Whateley have revealed the clubs they’ve been most impressed by following pre-season games, with both offering a pump-up for the GWS Giants.
With Adam Kingsley in his second season at the helm, the Giants looked to have come back better over the last fortnight on the field, competing well against Sydney before smashing Gold Coast by 45 points last Thursday.
GWS surprised to earn a Preliminary Final berth in 2023 and the comparisons between Kingsley’s first season and Collingwood coach Craig McRae’s – who won a flag in his 2nd year – have already been well drawn.
King believes the Giants have the assets to get better in 2024 and get back to the pointy end of September.
“I think all teams have given you a reason to have hope this year. There are different levels of what you’re after,” the dual-premiership Kangaroo said on SEN’s Whateley.
“The Giants were next level and they’ve still got some talent to come back… the missing link in the Giants really is another threat that’s not Jesse Hogan and Toby Greene… Aaron Cadman looks good, Callum Brown looks a player, (GWS development coach) Cameron Mooney reckons he could be the best third tall in the comp.
“Then you see Jake Riccardi play like a man, I don’t mean that disrespectfully, with a real anger and a presence, that’s a shift. If they’ve got that sorted, they’ve already got the backline and the midfield did it without Finn Callaghan, who I reckon is an absolute top-liner.
“He’s games away from being one of our top 20 players.”
King has also been impressed by Port Adelaide, who torched Fremantle by 39 points last Friday.
On the two clubs he’s been most impressed by, King said: “If you’re looking to back one really early, it’s probably (GWS)… there’s a few that are rolling on but I was really taken by the way Port Adelaide played and GWS played.”
Whateley added: “If I’m black booking one club out of the barrier trials, it’s the Giants.”
Whateley also had high hopes for what St Kilda and the Western Bulldogs can achieve in 2024.
"Bar Brisbane, they are the list that I would most like to have."@kanecornes was very impressed with how the Bulldogs performed over the weekend 🐶@SENSportsday | #AFL pic.twitter.com/8omUL5Vvpq
— SEN 1116 (@1116sen) March 4, 2024
On St Kilda:
“I want to revisit an old idea. Could the Saints be the jump, lead, win team this year? The way they’re going to come out of half-back, they could be the quickest.”
On the Bulldogs:
“I’m inclined to believe in the Dogs coming in. Give me the first six weeks of the season to see it and judge it, but I’m inclined to believe in them coming in.
“If the choice is to believe in them or doubt them, I’m going to believe in them.”