GREATER Western Sydney is putting plans in place to retain gun midfielder Finn Callaghan, with the club confident the off-season departures of several key players last October won't hamper its chances of keeping the youngster.
The Giants were bruised by the loss of star trio Harry Perryman, Isaac Cumming and James Peatling last season, with all three players turning down offers to stay at the club and instead opting to part in trade and free agency moves.
Attention will quickly now turn to Callaghan's impending contract call, with the former No.3 pick already attracting interest from Victorian rivals as he weighs a significant decision on his future.
But the Giants are confident Callaghan will ultimately follow in the footsteps of teammates like Harry Himmelberg (2029), Brent Daniels (2031) and Sam Taylor (2032) in committing his long-term future to the club.
Speaking exclusively to AFL.com.au earlier this week, Giants coach Adam Kingsley said the club was in the midst of a balancing act of trying to retain its star talent without breaking its salary cap structure.
"I'm going to trick him into signing," Kingsley laughed.
"[But] the reality is, he'll make a decision based on what's best for him and for his family. That will either be with us or it won't be.
"What we'll do is afford him as many opportunities as the salary cap allows, we'll pay him as well as we can for as long as we can in a way that fits within our strategy and with everyone else.
"The problem is, if you overpay on certain players, it means a compromise on keeping the next and keeping the next and keeping the next. If we were to overpay all three of those players who left – and I'll say overpay, but it's just paying them more – does it mean we don't keep Finn Callaghan? Or don't keep Sam Taylor? Or Brent Daniels? Or any of the others that are upcoming? It's a big jigsaw.
"Ultimately, back to Finn, he'll make a decision based on what's best for him and his family. We'll try and provide an environment that's fun to be around and a team that wins, so he's constantly playing in finals. Other than that, what else do you want as a player?"
The Giants had enjoyed a period of list stability prior to last October's departures, with veteran defender Nick Haynes (Carlton) also leaving as a free agent and joining Perryman (Collingwood), Cumming (Adelaide) and Peatling (Adelaide) in exiting the club.
But it won't look to change tact as it attempts to sway Callaghan to re-sign, with Kingsley indicating the club would not put more focus on retention and suggesting that last season's departures were a modern reality that non-Victorian clubs now face.
"Not really," Kingsley said on whether the club would put additional focus on keeping its best talent after last year's departures.
"Players leave. It's about why they leave and understanding why they leave. It's not a reflection of the culture or the work that the people up here do. It certainly wasn't before I got here, and it hasn't been since. It's just the reality of being in a Sydney team. Everyone goes through it. It's just how it is."
The Giants have re-tooled ex-winger Jacob Wehr as a defender to potentially fill Perryman's void, with Kingsley putting forward a handful of other youngsters to replace the likes of Cumming, Peatling and Haynes.
Former first-round picks Phoenix Gothard and James Leake are closing on senior debuts, while the Giants added three more first-round selections in Ollie Hannaford, Harry Oliver and Cody Angove during last November's national draft.
"If you're looking at Harry Perryman, you're probably thinking Jacob Wehr, Conor Stone, maybe Harrison Oliver. He's been quite good … he's been really good actually," Kingsley said.
"And then Cody Angove has been outstanding. Toby McMullin and Phoenix Gothard have been training quite well.
"James Leake has been really good. He's been training as a midfielder. He was probably the best half-back in his draft age, but he went forward and kicked goals. Then he went into the midfield. He's clean, tough. We've been playing him as a midfielder, but he might be a half-back. He plays a bit like 'Pez'.
"I've been really happy with a bunch of our guys. Max Gruzewski has been training really well. He's a clever footballer. Nick Madden has done well. What he's done with his body has been incredible."