Toby Greene didn’t even know how one can make his mattress when he moved to Sydney after being drafted among the many inaugural consumption of GWS gamers in 2011.
More than a decade later, he’s about to play his 2 hundredth sport as captain, a task he by no means thought he’d be good at, and probably the greatest gamers within the AFL having labored onerous to mature however nonetheless understanding he’s by no means “more than 30 seconds away” from one of many mad moments that littered his early profession.
Greene, now 29, has advanced from a self-confessed “hacking mid” who often racked up 40-possession video games in the course of the Giants’ fledgling years into probably the most damaging gamers within the sport by way of a piece ethic even first-year GWS coach Adam Kingsley stated was past any of his teammates.
Despite that progress, as a participant, an individual and a pacesetter, Greene stated he was nonetheless “not satisfied” together with his achievements and believes his position now could be to steer the membership and its subsequent era of gamers in the direction of success.
“I reckon I’ve got the most out of myself, but I still want to be playing for five or six years, or whatever it is, so I’ve got a lot to go on with,” Greene stated on Thursday.
“I’m one of the older boys now and we’ve got a good group of 18 to 23 year-olds that I’m responsible for now. I want to see them get to their potential and ultimately that’ll make us a better team.
“So that’s sort of what it’s about for me now, sort of changed from when I was 24 or 25 and I was really obsessed with my personal performance and probably thought about it too much.
“So that’s a key driver.”
Greene, who has discovered himself on the unsuitable facet of the tribunal and AFL officers up to now, together with an notorious six-week suspension for pushing umpire Matt Stevic in 2021, conceded he’d “made a few mistakes” throughout his vibrant journey.
“I’ve probably put myself in those positions a lot and I’ve made a few mistakes, so you’ve got to cop it when you do and I’m always 30 seconds away from another mistake,” he stated.
But that picture belies the overwhelming respect he has on the Giants and a respect that’s rising from the AFL neighborhood.
“It’s probably something family enjoy a bit more, you know, hearing good stuff than bad stuff to be honest,” he stated.
“It certainly weighs them down a lot more than what it does with me, so that’s probably the big thing.”
With that picture altering, Greene, adamant what GWS has already achieved, together with reaching the 2019 grand closing, is “special”, however he’s not achieved.
“Obviously, we don’t have a premiership and that’s what a lot of people will judge it on. But you know, we’ve been a really successful side,” he stated.
“We had a crack every year and we’re able to win finals. The only thing you compare it to is Gold Coast (that’s) really been a start-up club, so you’d say we’re a lot more successful in terms of that.
“It’s something I’m proud to be part of, but we’ve got a lot of work to do to get back there.”
Source: www.perthnow.com.au
