Round one 2012 marked the first game for the GWS Giants. Struggling early on, as expected, the Giants claimed two consecutive wooden spoons before rising the ladder to make finals for the first time in 2016.
The Giants would make a preliminary final that year, as they would the following year, losing to the eventual premiers in both, before their finals impact continued in 2018 and 2019, where they were grand finalists in the latter.
Last year GWS missed finals a year after making the decider, and for the first time since 2015.
This year, the Giants defied beliefs to manage a semi-final finish, with their 35-point loss to Geelong concluding their 10th season in the AFL.
Back to 2012, GWS' first game wasn't one to remember, losing by 63-points to eventual premier Sydney.
However, this game is a piece of history. So lets take a look back at the team the strolled out for the occasion, a decade later, and ponder the question, where are they now?
Currently Listed Giants
Only five players of the first game are still listed with GWS.
Adam Kennedy, Toby Greene, captain Stephen Coniglio and former co-captains Phil Davis and Callan Ward.
Interesting fact, Giants veteran ruckman Shane Mumford actually played in their inaugural game, but for the Swans.
Listed Elsewhere
Seven players from the Giants first game are still playing at AFL level for another club.
Will Hoskin-Elliott
Drafted at pick 4, Will Hoskin-Elliott was someone the Giants would have had high hopes for.
He showed his promise early, kicking 26 goals in 20 games in 2014 before soft-tissue injuries restricted his 2015 and 2016 seasons.
He was traded to Collingwood in 2016, after 52 games for the club.
Since then, Hoskin-Elliott has become a mainstay in the Pies' team, and was an important part of the Pies 2018 premiership push that saw them finish runner-up.
Jeremy Cameron
Probably the biggest name in GWS' ten-year history alongsideย Greene, Jeremy Cameron starred for the Giants from the get-go.
His achievements include two All-Australians (2013, 2019), two 22under22 team selections (2013, 2015), a Coleman Medal (2019), club best and fairest (2013), AFLPA best first year player and best young player of the year in 2015.
He was also a nine-time leading goal kicker for the club in all his seasons out west.
After a difficult 2020 season during the COVID-19 pandemic, Cameron exercised his free agency rights and was traded to the Cats.
He will face his old side tonight in the semi-final for the first time since venturing to Kardinia Park.
Devon Smith
One of the big names in Essendon's highly praised 2017 trade period, Devon Smith initially played for GWS, making his debut in their first game.
Smith would go on to play 109 games and kick 100 goals for the Giants, and would make the AFLPA 22under22 team in 2015.
After being traded to the Bombers, Smith won the club's best and fairest in his first season at Tullamarine.
Dylan Shiel
Another Giant who found a second home at Tullamarine, Dylan Shiel was a major coup for the Bombers, costing the Victorian club a handful of draft picks.
Shiel played seven seasons at the Giants, making the 22under22 team in 2015 and the All-Australian team in 2017.
Since arriving to the Bombers, he has become a mainstay in their midfield.
Nathan Wilson
Nathan Wilson played for the Giants for seven seasons, featuring in 77 games before being traded back home West to Fremantle.
The speedy defender has since been a key cog for the Dockers, who are looking to embark on a return to the top-eight.
Adam Tomlinson
A top 10 draft pick, Adam Tomlinson was touted to be a key part of the GWS team.
He played 140 games for the Giants and moved to Melbourne as a free agent following the 2019 Grand Final loss.
Tomlinson has the distinction of having to wait the longest time out of any current player to notch their first win. Tomlinson had to wait 21 matches until Round 19, 2013 to get his maiden victory.
No longer playing
Jacob Townsend
Since leaving the Giants in 2015, Jacob Townsend has played for three other clubs.
He played 20 games for Richmond from 2016-2019, including their 2017 premiership win. This made Townsend the first member of the inaugural GWS team to do so.
He was also a 2019 premiership player in their VFL side.
Townsend then moved to Essendon, but only managed a season before being delisted and picked up by Gold Coast.
Dom Tyson (Sub)
Dom Tyson was part of the inaugural team GWS put out for Round 1, 2012 as the substitute. It's fitting he has his own section here as he also finds himself in his own category.
Tyson was recently delisted by North Melbourne after two seasons and six games.
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The midfielder was drafted at Pick 3 but his career at the Giants didn't work out as planned due to injuries.
He was traded to the Demons at the end of 2013, and would have his best season in his first year there.
He finished second-place finish in the best and fairest and received eleven votes in the Brownlow Medal count that year, the most for any player recruited in the 2011 draft.
Tyson was also awarded the Harold Ball Memorial Trophyย as Melbourne's best young player.
Injuries would come back to haunt him, but he would play a total of 94 games at the Demons before being traded to the Roos.
Jack Hombsch
Jack Hombsch played just nine games for the Giants in their inaugural year before being traded to Port Adelaide. He would cement himself as a tall defender early on but would find himself at a third club at the end of 2018, joining Gold Coast.
Hombsch announced his retirement this year.
Tomas Bugg
Tomas Bugg played 65 games for GWS before being traded to Melbourne at the end of 2015.
Bugg played 31 games for the Demons across three seasons, where he found himself in trouble numerous times.
He joined Carlton for the 2019 season but immediately announced his retirement due to the rise of his own business.
Bugg is the co-founder and CEO of social media technology firm ZOOZ Group. In less than 12 months, his business grew to a multi-million dollar company.
Tim Mohr
Tim Mohr suffered a series of injuries that eventually ended his career and changed his life forever.
Mohr managed 48 games across seven seasons at the Giants before being delisted and picked up by Hawthorn.
While playing in the VFL, he suffered his third major knee injury.
After six surgeries, Mohr has since been diagnosed with drop foot, a condition that leaves him unable to walk without the help of a brace.
"At the end of the day I am classified as being disabled for the rest of my life," Mohr said.
"I have been told this is the first and only time this injury has happened in AFL history."
Chad Cornes
More known for his 239-game career at Port Adelaide, Chad Cornes was also an inaugural GWS player.
Cornes played for two seasons as a playing-assistant coach before moving to coaching for good.
Now, Cornes is an assistant coach at his old club.
Israel Folau
Originally a rugby player in both league and union, Israel switched codes to AFL to join GWS.
Folau played just 13 games in two seasons before giving up the sport and switching back to rugby.
Although his time playing AFL on-field has been described as a failure, he is also credited with helping to establish the Giants in Western Sydney
Folau recently joined the Shining Arcs Tokyo-Bay Urayasu in Japan Rugby League One.
Rhys Palmer
Rhys Palmer originally played for Fremantle, winning the Rising Star award in 2008.
He played 53 games before becoming only the third uncontracted player to join GWS.
Palmer was traded to Carlton at the end of 2016 after 69 games with GWS, but only managed one game before being delisted in 2017.
Since his playing career, Palmer notably got into trouble for throwing a shoe onto a track at a horse race in March 2019.
That same month he suffered a motorcycle incident that left him in an induced coma. He since recovered.
Palmer is currently a director at a financial services business call Freedom Partners.
Curtly Hampton
Curtly Hampton was one of the first players recruited by GWS, using their Northern Territory zone selections.
His career lasted seven seasons, four with the Giants and three at Adelaide, before he retired. He played a total of 60 games, 51 with GWS.
Jonathan Giles
Jonathan Giles, like his former teammate Townsend, has been on four AFL lists.
Giles was listed with Port Adelaide from 2006 to 2009, but didn't manage a senior game.
He was delisted and picked up by GWS, where he played most of his career games, with 51.
Giles then played three games at Essendon and nine at West Coast.
After a knee injury hastened his retirement from West Coast at the end of 2017, he moved into construction management. He's based in Melbourne working for a company called Built, where he is now a senior project engineer.
James McDonald
Like his teammate Cornes, James McDonald is more known for his career prior to GWS.
McDonald played 251 games for Melbourne where he was an All-Australian in 2006, a club best and fairest (2006, 2007) and captain from 2008-2010.
He retired in 2010 but came out of retirement to join GWS.
He, just as Cornes, was a playing assistant coach at GWS, playing 3 games in 2012.
