2015 Greater Western Sydney Giants season

The Greater Western Sydney Giants' 2015 season was its 4th season in the Australian Football League (AFL).

Greater Western Sydney Giants
2015 season
CoachLeon Cameron
Captain(s)Phil Davis
Callan Ward
Home groundSpotless Stadium (Capacity: 25,000)
StarTrack Oval (Capacity: 13,550)
Highest home attendance14,667 (Round 17 vs Geelong)
Lowest home attendance6,917 (Round 4 vs Gold Coast)
← 2014 2016 →
Main article: 2015 AFL season

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,[1] with three games played at their secondary home ground, StarTrack Oval in Canberra. The three matches at StarTrack Oval were against Melbourne, the Gold Coast Suns and Geelong in rounds 2, 4 and 17 respectively.[2]

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.[3] The club played Carlton, Gold Coast, Melbourne, St Kilda and Sydney 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).[1]

Major sponsors Virgin Australia and Lifebroker continued as the club's two major sponsors,[4] while BLK will manufacture the club's on-and-off field apparel for the next five seasons starting in 2015.[5]

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
Greater Western Sydney Giants
Senior squad Rookie List Coaching staff

Head coach

Assistant coaches

Legend:
  • (c) Captain(s)
  • (vc) Vice captain(s)
  • Long-term injury list
  • Upgraded rookie(s)

Updated: 30 January 2014
Source(s): A Numbers Game

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.[6][7] 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,[7] Kristian Jaksch and Mark Whiley, who were both traded to Carlton,[8] Jonathan Giles, who requested a trade home to South Australia but ultimately ended up at Essendon,[9] and Sam Frost, who was traded to Melbourne 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
PlayerPrevious ClubLeaguevia
Joel Patfull[6]Brisbane LionsAustralian Football LeagueAFL Trade Period
Ryan Griffen[7]Western BulldogsAustralian Football LeagueAFL Trade Period
Jarrod PickettSouth Fremantle Football ClubWAFLAFL Draft
Caleb MarchbankMurray BushrangersTAC CupAFL Draft
Paul AhernCalder CannonsTAC CupAFL Draft
Pat McKennaGisborne Football ClubBendigo Football LeagueAFL Draft
Jack SteeleBelconnen Football ClubNEAFLAFL Draft

Out
PlayerNew ClubLeaguevia
Josh Hunt[10]RetirementN/AN/A
Stephen Gilham[10]RetirementN/AN/A
Jonathan O'Rourke[11]HawthornAustralian Football LeagueAFL Trade Period
Kristian Jaksch[8]CarltonAustralian Football LeagueAFL Trade Period
Mark Whiley[8]CarltonAustralian Football LeagueAFL Trade Period
Tom Boyd[7]Western BulldogsAustralian Football LeagueAFL Trade Period
Jonathan Giles[9]EssendonAustralian Football LeagueAFL Trade Period
Sam FrostMelbourneAustralian Football LeagueAFL 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) Gold Coast 0.14.10 (94) 2.6.4 (58) Won by 36 points Blacktown International Sportspark 1,787
2 Friday, 13 March (7:10 pm) Essendon 0.14.13 (97) 0.8.4 (52) Won by 45 points Spotless Stadium 2,505
3 Sunday, 22 March (1:10 pm) Sydney 0.9.13 (67) 0.11.7 (73) Lost by 6 points StarTrack Oval ???
Source

Home and away season
See also: 2015 AFL season
Rd Date and local time Opponent Scores (Greater Western Sydney's scores indicated in bold) Venue Attendance Ladder
position
Home Away Result
1 Sunday, 5 April (1:10 pm) St Kilda 11.12 (78) 12.15 (87) Won by 9 points Etihad Stadium (A) 18,794 7th
2 Saturday, 11 April (2:10 pm) Melbourne 15.11 (101) 8.8 (56) Won by 45 points StarTrack Oval (H) 7,760 3rd
3 Saturday, 18 April (4:35 pm) Sydney 16.15 (111) 12.18 (90) Lost by 21 points Sydney Cricket Ground (A) 31,966 7th
4 Saturday, 25 April (5:40 pm) Gold Coast 16.23 (119) 7.11 (53) Won by 66 points StarTrack Oval (H) 6,917 2nd
5 Saturday, 2 May (5:40 pm) West Coast 18.12 (120) 4.9 (33) Lost by 87 points Domain Stadium (A) 34,554 8th
6 Saturday, 9 May (4:35 pm) Hawthorn 16.12 (108) 14.14 (98) Won by 10 points Spotless Stadium (H) 13,556 6th
7 Saturday, 16 May (4:35 pm) Carlton 9.3 (57) 19.21 (135) Won by 78 points Etihad Stadium (A) 16,676 5th
8 Saturday, 23 May (2:10 pm) Adelaide 16.12 (108) 12.12 (84) Won by 24 points Spotless Stadium (H) 9,481 4th
9 Saturday, 30 May (4:35 pm) Western Bulldogs 16.17 (113) 11.2 (68) Lost by 45 points Etihad Stadium (A) 16,395 5th
10 Sunday, 7 June (1:10 pm) Brisbane Lions 14.13 (97) 10.7 (67) Won by 30 points Spotless Stadium (H) 9,079 5th
11 Sunday, 14 June (1:10 pm) Collingwood 18.11 (119) 11.11 (77) Lost by 42 points Melbourne Cricket Ground (A) 43,390 5th
12 Saturday, 20 June (4:35 pm) North Melbourne 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) Richmond 10.18 (78) 10.9 (69) Lost by 9 points Melbourne Cricket Ground (A) 35,968 9th
15 Sunday, 12 July (1:10 pm) St Kilda 12.12 (84) 6.13 (49) Won by 35 points Spotless Stadium (H) 9,178 8th
16 Saturday, 18 July (2:10 pm) Gold Coast 12.7 (79) 13.16 (94) Won by 15 points Metricon Stadium (A) 9,589 7th
17 Saturday, 25 July (1:45 pm) Geelong 6.6 (42) 9.15 (69) Lost by 27 points StarTrack Oval (H) 14,667 9th
18 Sunday, 2 August (2:40 pm) Fremantle 12.12 (84) 9.9 (63) Lost by 21 points Domain Stadium (A) 34,626 10th
19 Sunday, 9 August (3:20 pm) Essendon 14.9 (93) 8.13 (61) Won by 32 points Spotless Stadium (H) 10,093 10th
20 Saturday, 15 August (4:05 pm) Port Adelaide �16.15 (111) 13.12 (90) Lost by 21 points Adelaide Oval (A) 33,281 10th
21 Saturday, 22 August (2:10 pm) Sydney Spotless Stadium (H)
22 Saturday, 29 August (1:45 pm) Carlton Spotless Stadium (H)
23 TBD Melbourne Etihad Stadium (A)
Source

Ladder
2015 AFL ladder
Pos Team Pld W L D PF PA PP Pts
1 Fremantle 22 17 5 0 1857 1564 118.7 68 Finals series
2 West Coast 22 16 5 1 2330 1572 148.2 66
3 Hawthorn (P) 22 16 6 0 2452 1548 158.4 64
4 Sydney 22 16 6 0 2006 1578 127.1 64
5 Richmond 22 15 7 0 1930 1568 123.1 60
6 Western Bulldogs 22 14 8 0 2101 1825 115.1 56
7 Adelaide 21 13 8 0 2107 1821 115.7 54[lower-alpha 1]
8 North Melbourne 22 13 9 0 2062 1937 106.5 52
9 Port Adelaide 22 12 10 0 2002 1874 106.8 48
10 Geelong 21 11 9 1 1853 1833 101.1 48[lower-alpha 1]
11 Greater Western Sydney 22 11 11 0 1872 1891 99.0 44
12 Collingwood 22 10 12 0 1972 1856 106.3 40
13 Melbourne 22 7 15 0 1573 2044 77.0 28
14 St Kilda 22 6 15 1 1695 2162 78.4 26
15 Essendon 22 6 16 0 1580 2134 74.0 24
16 Gold Coast 22 4 17 1 1633 2240 72.9 18
17 Brisbane Lions 22 4 18 0 1557 2306 67.5 16
18 Carlton 22 4 18 0 1525 2354 64.8 16
Source:
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) percentage; 3) number of points for.
(P) Premiers.
Notes:
  1. The round 14 match between Adelaide and Geelong was cancelled due to the death of Adelaide coach Phil Walsh, and both teams were awarded two premiership points each.

Awards, Records & Milestones

Awards

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 St Kilda 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:
  • 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 Adelaide 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

Brownlow Medal
See also: 2015 Brownlow Medal

Results
Round1 vote2 votes3 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
Player1 vote games2 vote games3 vote gamesTotal votes
Total
  • italics denotes ineligible player

Tribunal cases
Player Round Charge category Verdict Points[a] Result Victim Club Ref(s)
Devon Smith 7 Rough conduct Guilty N/A $1,000 fine Bryce Gibbs Carlton [13]

Notes
  • a "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
  1. Bring It On, Greater Western Sydney Giants official website, 30 October 2014
  2. Best Ever Fixture For Canberra, Greater Western Sydney Giants official website, 30 October 2014
  3. Swans v Giants Sydney derby in round three at SCG as cricket World Cup causes AFL fixture headaches, The Daily Telegraph, 22 October 2014
  4. Our Partners Archived 14 November 2014 at Archive.today, Greater Western Sydney Fiants official website
  5. GWS Giants partner with BLK Archived 20 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine, BLK Sport, 6 November 2014
  6. Lions defender Joel Patfull completes switch to GWS, AFL.com.au official website, 10 October 2014
  7. Griffen and Boyd swap places in blockbuster trade, AFL.com.au official website, 15 October 2014
  8. Giants Jaksch and Whiley now in the navy blue, AFL.com.au official website, 15 October 2014
  9. Giles now a Bomber as Dons replace Ryder. AFL.com.au official website, 16 October 2014
  10. "Premiership Duo Retire". Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  11. O'Rourke Becomes A Hawk, GWS Giants Official Website, 9 October 2014
  12. "By the Numbers: Round 6". Greater Western Sydney Giants official website. 11 May 2015. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  13. Twomey, Callum (19 May 2015). "Fyfe fine, so no Tribunal this week". Australian Football League. Telstra Media. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
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