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.
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.
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)
Source: [12] Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) percentage; 3) number of points for. (P) Premiers Notes:
^ abThe 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.
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:
Greater Western Sydney's first win over Hawthorn in a premiership match[13]
Greater Western Sydney's first win against a defending premier[13]
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
Round 1:
Ryan Griffen – First game for Greater Western Sydney
Joel Patfull – First game for Greater Western Sydney
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
^ abBring It On, Greater Western Sydney Giants official website, 30 October 2014
