Young guns are making their mark in the Greater Western Sydney Giants' pre-season as incoming head coach Adam Kingsley mulls over the club's captaincy.
After a disappointing 2022, which featured a bottom-four finish and the departure of coach Leon Cameron mid-season, former captain Stephen Coniglio says the team has been building momentum.
"There's a young brigade coming through which is really exciting for the supporters but also for us too," Coniglio said.
He added 22-year-old pair Connor Idun and Tom Green had been showing great leadership on and off the field.
"Those two in particular have been outstanding," he said.
The giants recruited Idun in the 2018 draft and the Victorian defender picked up an AFL Rising Star nomination after keeping legendary small forward Eddie Betts to just two goals in the final game of his career in 2021.
Green, grandson of Richmond great Michael Green, was drafted in 2019 and has a career average of 21 disposals, plus the club's 2021 rising star award.
The two young recruits, as well as 24-year-old midfielder Harry Perryman, are in the running for player leadership positions as the captaincy remains undecided.
The side took a leaf from Sydney's book last year and had three captains, with Toby Greene and Josh Kelly promoted to help Stephen Coniglio after two years as the sole captain.
While Kingsley weighs up the player leadership structure for 2023, he is pleased with his side's pre-season progress.
"Our blokes are going to fight and dig in and try as hard as we can," he said.
"The way we've been training is very exciting and I know we're going to play an exciting brand of footy."
The Giants have just returned from a team retreat at Milson Island and will start official pre-season training next week, before playing Adelaide in round one on March 19.
