AFL News

Kingsley weighs in on free agent speculation, flags Toby target

Toby Bedford was freed to play after a secondary plea at the Appeals Board on Thursday.

Published by
Aidan Cellini

GWS coach Adam Kingsley believes that unrestricted free agent Harry Perryman's "loyalty" has been tested following rival clubs' pursuit.

Perryman has been strongly linked to Port Adelaide, Essendon and Hawthorn, with the latter reportedly offering a whopping $4 million, five-year deal.

Kingsley conceded it was a difficult situation to navigate but was adamant that the Giants were keen to keep the 25-year-old NSW product, upping their offer to six years earlier in the week.

"It'll be a challenge for him, but we'd love him to stay," Kingsley said on Friday.

"He's very important, Harry knows this. We love him on field but more importantly, we love him off field. His teammates love him, we want to keep him, and we'll do our best to do that but there's always clubs who have got more to give and that tests players' loyalty, so that's something that Harry's going through at the moment."

CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA - APRIL 25: Harry Perryman of the Giants celebrates kicking a goal during the round seven AFL match between Greater Western Sydney Giants and Brisbane Lions at Manuka Oval, on April 25, 2024, in Canberra, Australia. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/AFL Photos/via Getty Images )

Kingsley's headaches don't end there as the toing and froing of Toby Bedford between the three-match suspension, Tribunal hearing and finally, the Appeals Board, all came to a head on Thursday night which saw the sanction eventually dismissed.

With the main focus surrounding the Gold Coast Suns and the tactical warfare expected to descend onto ENGIE Stadium between the two newest clubs, the Giants coach was distracted by Bedford's availability and who he'd send too if he was.

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Now confirmed to line up on Saturday, Kingsley revealed who the tagger will be spending time on, flagging multiple players as key movers for Damien Hardwick.

"He's (Anderson) a very important player, Rowell's an important player, Flanders has been doing a great job through the middle, he'll go to one of them," Kingsley said.

"I've been really pleased with the job he's been doing, he's helping us immensely by minimising the opposition's best player. I was really pleased he was able to get through that suspension."

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Despite Bedford being acquitted of the three-game suspension, Kingsley admitted that it didn't alleviate the frustration nor the confusion surrounding the tackling criteria in the AFL.

"We had five guys miss games last year with dangerous tackles, so we think we release arms more often than not. On this occasion was it possible or not? We thought it wasn't and that's why we took the action we did," Kingsley said.

"But I think the game is making strides in improving that.

"We need to come together and work out what actions are dangerous and what's not and then we can coach our players to try and be safer as well as getting the job done, tackling's an important part of the game."

Published by
Aidan Cellini