Finn Callaghan’s decision to knock back a fortune and back himself – and the AFL’s youngest and smallest club – was secured after coach Adam Kingsley delivered the 21-year-old a detailed picture of the club’s efforts over the off-season to complete the final piece of the premiership puzzle.
It was all about leadership. And decision-making in key moments. Kingsley and his team had already picked up some worrying signs before the Giants’ disastrous straight-sets finals exit last year and decided to invest some hard-fought soft cap gains into shifting the on-field mindset of their leadership group.
Finn Callaghan starred in the Giants’ win over Collingwood on Sunday.Credit: AFL Photos via Getty Images
Callaghan, from Melbourne’s bayside suburbs, never received a written offer from St Kilda nor did he ever meet Ross Lyon, but $18 million over 10 years was the number and a million-dollar home loan on favourable terms was on the table. Although nothing was formalised, the proposed home loan would most likely have fallen into the additional services agreement category.
Callaghan signed with GWS on the eve of the season for $4.5 million over four years, which takes him to the eve of the 2030 season when he becomes a free agent.
That gives Kingsley and his club five years to build a side around Callaghan – who delivered a best-on-ground performance in the Giants’ opening round match against Collingwood – and teammates Tom Green, Connor Idun and recently promoted leader Jack Buckley.
The Giants’ presentation to Callaghan on the eve of the season was not about money but the program they had introduced over the late spring and summer of 2024-25, which Callaghan wasn’t involved in because he is not yet in the GWS leadership group. For the first time in football boss Jason McCartney’s time, the Giants employed an outsider – a leadership coach who had worked with McCartney in the past but was not well known in football circles.
Callaghan knocked back a monster offer from St Kilda.Credit: AFL Photos via Getty Images
Toby Greene, Stephen Coniglio, Josh Kelly, Sam Taylor, Brent Daniels, Idun, Green and Buckley regularly worked together in pairs, in scenario-based sessions, attended forums and challenged each other over the summer. Kingsley was determined to eradicate the terrible lapses in games that culminated in the horror capitulation to Brisbane in the 2024 semi-final.
Kingsley made no secret of his views on the Giants’ leadership in late 2022 when he was being interviewed for the job. Having witnessed the Richmond compromise captaincy choice of Dylan Grimes and Toby Nankervis in his final year at Punt Road, he told the Giants that his preference would be for one captain at GWS rather than the then three.
Kingsley’s ultimate choice of Greene was anointed all-Australian captain the following year. But Greene’s 2024 ended for the second year running with a shattering narrow finals loss. On Seven’s Unfiltered this week, Greene described the aftermath of the semi-final loss to the Lions as the worst post-match rooms he had ever been in. Then there was the “wacky Wednesday” debacle, which exposed the club in a shameful spotlight.
Thirteen players in all were sanctioned, with six suspended. Greene and fellow leaders Taylor, Green and Idun were all fined $5000 for their various failings on the night, but the plan to improve the team’s leadership skills and take better control of games and tight situations had already been hatched.
Much earlier, former Giants director and 3AW commentator Jimmy Bartel lamented some dreadful decisions and a couple of selfish acts by club leaders in front of Hawthorn’s goal late in the Giants’ six-point loss to the Hawks in Tasmania in June. The Giants narrowly beat Melbourne (round 20) and Brisbane (round 22), but Kingsley and his lieutenants were deeply perplexed by the concentration lapses that punctuated long periods of both victories.
Sydney’s cost-of-living challenges and the lack of home-grown Australian football IP has always been a problem for the Giants in attracting football department talent. Kingsley now seems wedded to the job and plans to buy a house in the city this year, while three of his assistants – Brett Montgomery, Ben Hart and Craig Jennings – live away from their families interstate to do their jobs.
The AFL’s decision to marginally boost the soft cap by $400,000 for the 2025 season – it still sits significantly below pre-pandemic levels – meant the Giants employed not only the external leadership consultant but also former Sydney Swan Trent Dennis-Lane as a development coach.
The club refused to share the identity of the leadership coach, saying he prefers to keep a low profile and is not seeking more work in the industry. But for a senior playing group thirsty for knowledge and desperate for the ultimate success, his regular sessions have been so well-received the plan is now to widen his work beyond the leadership group to the rest of the team.
Both appointments related to developing the leadership and decision-making skills within a team widely tipped to make history this year with its first premiership.
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