# Greater Western Sydney Giants draft history

The Greater Western Sydney Giants, also known as the GWS Giants, are an Australian rules football club based in the Greater Western Sydney region of New South Wales. The club joined the Australian Football League (AFL) as an expansion club, playing their first match during the first round of the 2012 AFL season.
In the AFL draft, clubs receive picks based on the position in which they finish on the ladder during the season. The draft is held each year at the end of November, to allow the draftees to finish their school examinations before being drafted.

## 2011 Draft concessions

The Greater Western Sydney Giants were to join the AFL in 2012, and were provided with several draft concessions, including additional draft selections, early access to recruit 17-year-old players, and access to uncontracted and previously listed players in this offseason. These concessions were similar to those provided to the Gold Coast Football Club, which entered the league in the previous season.
Greater Western Sydney was permitted to recruit the following players directly, without the need for any draft:
* At the end of 2010, up to twelve 17-year-old players (born between 1 January – 30 April 1993), who were too young to enter the 2010 AFL draft. These players were not eligible to play senior AFL football in 2011, and would continue to undergo junior development, either in Sydney or their home state.
* Up to ten players who were not on an AFL list but had previously nominated for a national draft. These players could be recruited at the end of either 2011 or 2012, with no more than ten players recruited in this manner over the two years. Greater Western Sydney could immediately trade any players recruited in this manner.
* Up to sixteen players who were on an AFL list, but were out of contract at the end of the season. Again, these players could be recruited at the end of either 2011 or 2012, with no more than sixteen players recruited in this manner over the two years, and no more than one player recruited from any other club. Clubs who lost players in this manner received compensatory selections in the national draft; the number and value of these selections was determined based on age, contract size, on-field performance and draft order, and were permitted to be used in any year between 2011 and 2015.
* Up to sixteen players recruited from the New South Wales and Australian Capital Territory zone, recruited at any time between 2010 and 2013, and from the Northern Territory zone, recruited between 2011 and 2013.
Then, in the drafts, Greater Western Sydney had the following selections:
* In the 2011 national draft, the first selection in each round, and picks No. 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13 and 15 in the first round.
* In the 2011 rookie draft, the first eight selections.
* In the 2012 rookie draft, the first selection in each round.
Additionally, at the end of 2011, Greater Western Sydney had the ability to trade the only four selections in a once-off "mini-draft", which could be used to recruit 17-year-old players (born between 1 January – 30 April 1994). Greater Western Sydney could only use these draft picks as trade currency; the club was not permitted to use the picks for its own list development. Players recruited and traded in this manner were not eligible to play senior AFL football in 2012, and would continue to undergo junior development. This specific concession was unique to Greater Western Sydney; Gold Coast did not have the same concession the previous year.
Greater Western Sydney began with an expanded list size of up to fifty senior players and nine rookies, to be gradually reduced to a standard list size of thirty-eight senior players and nine rookies by 2019.
During the 2011 AFL season there was speculation about several players who would be uncontracted at the end of the season, including Tom Scully, Rhys Palmer, Callan Ward and Taylor Walker. In August 2011, Phil Davis from Adelaide was the first player to announce a move to Greater Western Sydney as an uncontracted player signing. After the season had ended, Palmer, Scully and Ward also announced moves to the Giants. As compensation, Scully was rated as a top-level player, resulting in Melbourne receiving both a first-round and a mid-first round draft pick as compensation. Davis and Ward were rated as second-level, earning Adelaide and Western Bulldogs a first round compensation selection, and Palmer was rated a third-level player, giving Fremantle an end of first round selection.

## National Draft Selections

| ^ | Denotes player who has been inducted to the Australian Football Hall of Fame |
| * | Denotes player who has been a premiership player and been selected for at least one All-Australian team |
| $^+$ | Denotes player who has been a premiership player at least once |
| $^x$ | Denotes player who has been selected for at least one All-Australian team |
| $^#$ | Denotes player who has never played in a VFL/AFL home and away season or finals game |
| $^~$ | Denotes player who has been selected as Rising Star |
Giants AFL National Draft Selections :
| Year | Round | Pick | Player | Recruited from | League | Draft Pick Notes |
| 2011 | 1 | 1 | Jonathon Patton | Eastern Ranges | TAC Cup | - |
| 2011 | 1 | 2 | Stephen Coniglio | Swan Districts | WAFL | - |
| 2011 | 1 | 3 | Dom Tyson | Oakleigh Chargers | TAC Cup | - |
| 2011 | 1 | 4 | Will Hoskin-Elliott | Western Jets | TAC Cup | - |
| 2011 | 1 | 5 | Matt Buntine | Dandenong Stingrays | TAC Cup | - |
| 2011 | 1 | 7 | Nick Haynes | Dandenong Stingrays | TAC Cup | - |
| 2011 | 1 | 9 | Adam Tomlinson | Oakleigh Chargers | TAC Cup | - |
| 2011 | 1 | 10 | Liam Sumner | Sandringham Dragons | TAC Cup | - |
| 2011 | 1 | 11 | Toby Greene | Oakleigh Chargers | TAC Cup | - |
| 2011 | 1 | 13 | Taylor Adams | Geelong Falcons | TAC Cup | - |
| 2011 | 1 | 14 | Devon Smith | Geelong Falcons | TAC Cup | - |
| 2011 | 3 | 56 | Tom Downie | North Ballarat Rebels | TAC Cup | - |
| 2011 | 5 | 79 | Setanta Ó hAilpín | Carlton | AFL | - |
| 2011 | 6 | 87 | James McDonald | Old Xaverians | VAFA | - |
| 2012 | 1 | 1 | Lachie Whitfield | Dandenong Stingrays | TAC Cup | - |
| 2012 | 1 | 2 | Jonathan O'Rourke | Calder Cannons | TAC Cup | Traded from Gold Coast |
| 2012 | 1 | 3 | Lachie Plowman | Calder Cannons | TAC Cup | Traded from Melbourne |
| 2012 | 1 | 12 | Kristian Jaksch | Oakleigh Chargers | TAC Cup | Traded from St Kilda |
| 2012 | 1 | 14 | Aidan Corr | Northern Knights | TAC Cup | Traded from Melbourne, Greater Western Sydney uncontracted player compensation pick (Scully) |
| 2012 | 2 | 27 | James Stewart | Sandringham Dragons | TAC Cup | Traded by Hawthorn, received from Western Bulldogs |
| 2013 | 1 | 1 | Tom Boyd | Eastern Ranges | TAC Cup | - |
| 2013 | 1 | 2 | Josh Kelly | Sandringham Dragons | TAC Cup | Traded from Melbourne |
| 2013 | 1 | 14 | Cam McCarthy | South Fremantle | WAFL | Traded from Port Adelaide |
| 2013 | 2 | 29 | Rory Lobb | Swan Districts | WAFL | Traded from Brisbane Lions |
| 2013 | 9 | 97 | Jake Barrett | Temora | Farrer FL | NSW zone selection |
| 2014 | 1 | 4 | Jarrod Pickett | South Fremantle | WAFL | - |
| 2014 | 1 | 6 | Caleb Marchbank | Murray Bushrangers | TAC Cup | Traded from Western Bulldogs |
| 2014 | 1 | 7 | Paul Ahern | Calder Cannons | TAC Cup | Traded from Carlton |
| 2014 | 2 | 23 | Pat McKenna | Gisborne | Bendigo Football League | Traded from Melbourne |
| 2014 | 2 | 24 | Jack Steele | Belconnen | NEAFL | Academy player |
| 2014 | 7 | 85 | Jeremy Finlayson | Sydney Hills Eagles | NEAFL | Academy player |
| 2015 | 1 | 7 | Jacob Hopper | North Ballarat Rebels | TAC Cup | Academy player; Gold Coast's bid matched with pick 11 |
| 2015 | 1 | 13 | Matthew Kennedy | Collingullie-Glenfield Park | RFNL | Academy player; Richmond's bid matched with picks 34 and 40 |
| 2015 | 1 | 16 | Harrison Himmelberg | Mangoplah-CUE | RFNL | Academy player; Adelaide's bid matched with picks 48, 50, 55 and 59 |
| 2015 | 3 | 41 | Matt Flynn | Narrandera | RFNL | Academy player; Melbourne's bid matched with GWS' next pick |
| 2016 | 1 | 2 | Tim Taranto | Sandringham Dragons | TAC Cup | Traded from Brisbane Lions |
| 2016 | 1 | 5 | Will Setterfield | Sandringham Dragons | TAC Cup | Academy player, Carlton's bid matched with picks 15 and 37. |
| 2016 | 1 | 14 | Harry Perryman | Collingullie-Glenfield Park | RFNL | Academy player, Adelaide's bid matched with picks 38, 44 and 51. |
| 2016 | 1 | 20 | Isaac Cumming | North Broken Hill | BHFL | Academy player, Sydney's bid matched with picks 52, 54, 55 and 56. |
| 2016 | 4 | 54 | Lachlan Tiziani | Murray Bushrangers | TAC Cup | Academy player, traded from Melbourne; received from Essendon |
| 2016 | 4 | 58 | Matt de Boer | Fremantle | AFL | - |
| 2017 | 1 | 11 | Aiden Bonar | Dandenong Stingrays | TAC Cup | Traded from Essendon |
| 2017 | 2 | 27 | Brent Daniels | Bendigo Pioneers | TAC Cup | Traded from St Kilda |
| 2017 | 2 | 28 | Sam Taylor | Swan Districts | WAFL | Traded from Carlton; received from Western Bulldogs |
| 2017 | 4 | 56 | Zac Langdon | Claremont | WAFL | Traded by Fremantle; received from Gold Coast |
| 2017 | 4 | 64 | Nick Shipley | St George | Sydney AFL | Originally pick No.15, but slid down due to 1,000 point penalty following the Lachie Whitfield saga; Academy Selection |
| 2018 | 1 | 11 | Jye Caldwell | Bendigo Pioneers | TAC Cup | Traded from Essendon |
| 2018 | 1 | 14 | Jackson Hately | Central District | SANFL | Traded from Freo; received from Port, N.M. |
| 2018 | 1 | 22 | Xavier O'Halloran | Western Jets | TAC Cup | Traded from Freo; received from Bris, Suns, WCE |
| 2018 | 2 | 24 | Bobby Hill | Perth | WAFL | Traded from Adelaide at the draft; received from Carlton |
| 2018 | 2 | 34 | Kieren Briggs | Pennant Hills | AFL Syd. | Academy selection |
| 2018 | 4 | 61 | Connor Idun | Geelong Falcons | TAC Cup | Traded from St Kilda at the draft; received from Port Adelaide |
| 2019 | 1 | 4 | Lachlan Ash | Murray Bushrangers | NAB League | Traded from Adelaide; received from Carlton in 2018 |
| 2019 | 1 | 10 | Tom Green | Canberra Demons | NEAFL | Academy selection, matched bid by Carlton |
| 2019 | 3 | 51 | Jake Riccardi | Werribee | VFL | Traded from Collingwood at the draft; received from Brisbane Lions; received from Sydney; received from Carlton (via Adelaide) in 2018 |
| 2019 | 5 | 65 | Thomas Hutchesson | Adelaide | SANFL | - |
| 2020 | 1 | 12 | Tanner Bruhn | Geelong Falcons | NAB League | Free Agency compensation pick (Williams) |
| 2020 | 1 | 15 | Conor Stone | Oakleigh Chargers | NAB League | Traded from Geelong; received from Gold Coast at the 2019 National Draft |
| 2020 | 1 | 18 | Ryan Angwin | Gippsland Power | NAB League | Traded from Geelong; received from West Coast in 2019 |
| 2020 | 4 | 58 | Cameron Fleeton | Geelong Falcons | NAB League | - |
| 2020 | 4 | 59 | Jacob Wehr | Woodville-West Torrens | SANFL | - |
| 2021 | 1 | 3 | Finn Callaghan | Sandringham Dragons | NAB League | ←Collingwood (2020) |
| 2021 | 1 | 15 | Leek Aleer | Central District | SANFL | - |
| 2021 | 3 | 42 | Josh Fahey | Queanbeyan Tigers | AFL Canberra | Academy selection, matched bid by Western Bulldogs, used picks 47 and 89 |
| 2022 | 1 | 1 | Aaron Cadman | Greater Western Victoria Rebels | NAB League | ←North Melbourne |
| 2022 | 1 | 16 | Harry Rowston | Calder Cannons | NAB League | Academy selection, matched bid by Sydney |
| 2022 | 1 | 21 | Darcy Jones | Swan Districts | WAFL | ←Geelong |
| 2022 | 2 | 22 | Max Gruzewski | Oakleigh Chargers | NAB League | ←Richmond←North Melbourne (2021) |
| 2022 | 2 | 34 | Toby McMullin | Sandringham Dragons | NAB League | ←Richmond |
| 2023 | 1 | 12 | Phoenix Gothard | Murray Bushrangers | Talent League | ←Adelaide |
| 2023 | 1 | 17 | James Leake | Tasmania Devils | Talent League | ←Richmond |
| 2023 | 2 | 44 | Joseph Fonti | Claremont Football Club | WAFL | Free Agency Compensation pick (Flynn) |
| 2023 | 4 | 59 | Harvey Thomas | Oakleigh Chargers | Talent League | ←Richmond |
| 2024 | 1 | 18 | Oliver Hannaford | Greater Western Victoria Rebels | Talent League | |
| 2024 | 1 | 19 | Harrison Oliver | Sandringham Dragons | Talent League | Free agency compensation pick (Perryman) |
| 2024 | 2 | 36 | Jack Ough | Greater Western Victoria Rebels | Talent League | ←Brisbane Lions (draft)←Carlton |
| 2024 | 5 | 71 | Logan Smith | Queanbeyan | AFL Canberra | Academy selection |

## Rookie Draft Selections

| ^ | Denotes player who has been inducted to the Australian Football Hall of Fame |
| * | Denotes player who has been a premiership player and been selected for at least one All-Australian team |
| $^+$ | Denotes player who has been a premiership player at least once |
| $^x$ | Denotes player who has been selected for at least one All-Australian team |
| $^#$ | Denotes player who has never played in a VFL/AFL home and away season or finals game |
| $^~$ | Denotes player who has been selected as Rising Star |
Giants AFL Rookie Draft Selections :
| Year | Round | Pick | Player | Recruited from | League | Notes |
| 2012 | 1 | 1 | Sam Frost | Sandringham Dragons | TAC Cup | - |
| 2013 | 7 | 51 | Joseph Redfern | Sydney Hills Eagles | NEAFL | - |
| 2013 | 8 | 54 | Zac Williams | Narrandera | Riverina Football League | - |
| 2014 | 1 | 1 | Sam Schulz | Greater Western Sydney | AFL | Redrafted player |
| 2016 | 1 | 8 | Sam Reid | GWS Giants | NEAFL | - |
| 2016 | 2 | 26 | Daniel Lloyd | Killarney Vale | BDAFL | - |
| 2017 | 1 | 2 | Jake Barrett | Brisbane Lions | AFL | - |
| 2017 | 1 | 15 | Tendai Mzungu | Fremantle | AFL | - |
| 2017 | 2 | 32 | Joel Patfull | Greater Western Sydney | AFL | Patfull retired on 12 October 2016, but was retained on GWS's 2017 list due to Total Player Payment obligations. |
| 2018 | 1 | 15 | Dylan Buckley | Carlton | AFL | - |
| 2018 | 2 | 29 | Sam Ried | Greater Western Sydney | AFL | Redrafted player |
| 2020 | 1 | 15 | Jake Stein | Greater Western Sydney | AFL | Redrafted player |
| 2020 | 2 | 28 | Tom Sheridan | Greater Western Sydney | AFL | Redrafted player |
| 2020 | 3 | 36 | Zach Sproule | Greater Western Sydney | AFL | Redrafted player |
| 2021 | 1 | 9 | Sam Ried | Greater Western Sydney | AFL | Redrafted player |
| 2021 | 2 | 24 | Zach Sproule | Greater Western Sydney | AFL | Redrafted player |
| 2022 | 1 | 13 | Cooper Hamilton | Bendigo Pioneers | NAB League | - |
| 2022 | 2 | 29 | Jacob Wehr | Greater Western Sydney | AFL | Redrafted player |
| 2023 | 1 | 3 | Phil Davis | Greater Western Sydney | AFL | Redrafted player |
| 2024 | 1 | 14 | Adam Kennedy | Greater Western Sydney | AFL | Redrafted player |
| 2025 | 1 | 11 | Lachlan Keeffe | Greater Western Sydney | AFL | Redrafted player |
| 2025 | 2 | 22 | Jacob Wehr | Greater Western Sydney | AFL | Redrafted player |
| 2025 | 3 | 30 | Josh Fahey | Greater Western Sydney | AFL | Redrafted player |

## Academy Draft Selections

| ^ | Denotes player who has been inducted to the Australian Football Hall of Fame |
| * | Denotes player who has been a premiership player and been selected for at least one All-Australian team |
| $^+$ | Denotes player who has been a premiership player at least once |
| $^x$ | Denotes player who has been selected for at least one All-Australian team |
| $^#$ | Denotes player who has never played in a VFL/AFL home and away season or finals game |
| $^~$ | Denotes player who has been selected as Rising Star |
Giants Academy Draft Selections :
| Year | Round | Pick | Draft | Player | Recruited from | League |
| 2013 | 9 | 97 | National Draft | Jake Barrett | Temora | Farrer FL |
| 2013 | 7 | 51 | Rookie Draft | Joseph Redfern | Sydney Hills Eagles | NEAFL |
| 2013 | 8 | 54 | Rookie Draft | Zac Williams | Narrandera | Riverina Football League |
| 2014 | 2 | 24 | National Draft | Jack Steele | Belconnen | NEAFL |
| 2014 | 7 | 85 | National Draft | Jeremy Finlayson | Sydney Hills Eagles | NEAFL |
| 2015 | 1 | 7 | National Draft | Jacob Hopper | North Ballarat Rebels | TAC Cup |
| 2015 | 1 | 13 | National Draft | Matthew Kennedy | Collingullie-Glenfield Park | RFNL |
| 2015 | 1 | 16 | National Draft | Harrison Himmelberg | Mangoplah-CUE | RFNL |
| 2015 | 3 | 41 | National Draft | Matt Flynn | Narrandera | RFNL |
| 2016 | 1 | 5 | National Draft | Will Setterfield | Sandringham Dragons | TAC Cup |
| 2016 | 1 | 14 | National Draft | Harry Perryman | Collingullie-Glenfield Park | RFNL |
| 2016 | 1 | 20 | National Draft | Isaac Cumming | North Broken Hill | BHFL |
| 2016 | 4 | 54 | National Draft | Lachlan Tiziani | Murray Bushrangers | TAC Cup |
| 2017 | 4 | 64 | National Draft | Nick Shipley | St George | Sydney AFL |
| 2017 | - | - | Category B rookie | Zach Sproule | Murray Bushrangers | TAC Cup |
| 2018 | 2 | 34 | National Draft | Kieren Briggs | Pennant Hills | AFL Syd. |
| 2018 | - | - | Category B rookie | Jack Buckley | GWS Giants | NEAFL |
| 2019 | 1 | 10 | National Draft | Tom Green | Canberra Demons | NEAFL |
| 2021 | 1 | 8 | Mid-season draft | James Peatling | Greater Western Sydney | VFL |
| 2021 | 3 | 42 | National Draft | Josh Fahey | Queanbeyan Tigers | AFL Canberra |
| 2023 | 4 | 59 | National Draft | Harvey Thomas | Oakleigh Chargers | Talent League |
| 2023 | - | - | Category B rookie | Nathan Wardius | Rand Walbundrie Walla Giants FNC | HFNL |
| 2024 | - | - | Category B rookie | Josaia Delana | East Coast Eagles (Sydney AFL) | AFL Sydney |