GIANTS coach Adam Kingsley says he’s thrilled with the fitness of his side following the summer break, as the club starts to ramp up preparations ahead of a fast-approaching Opening Round clash on Saturday, March 7.
Returning to the club last week following the Christmas break, Kingsley said his players had come back in tip-top shape and it’s now all systems go in preparation for a huge 2026 campaign.
“We are feeling great. We had a good three-week block [break] over Christmas where the guys went away and clearly got to work [trained hard] so that was nice,” Kingsley said.
“They’ve come back in really good shape - I’m pleased with the group. We are starting to ramp things up now which is nice because games always come around quickly at this time of the year.
“It feels like there is a lot of motivation within the group to come back and try and earn a spot in our team and perform well, so that’s always quite healthy.
“Some of our younger boys have improved significantly [with their fitness] which is great as that puts pressure on the more experienced guys.
“We are in really good shape.”
Kingsley will again be chasing history in 2026 as he looks to lead the GIANTS to their first-ever AFL premiership.
The GIANTS have featured in September in all three campaigns under Kingsley’s reign thus far, and despite some tough finals exits in the last two seasons, the 2024 AFLCA Coach of the Year says he won’t be tinkering with his game plan too much as he chases the ultimate glory.
“We aren’t going to throw the baby out with the bath water as they say, in terms of the way that we play,” he said.
“It’s quite similar for the most part - we’ve made a few tweaks here and there with the program and the way we train and the drills we are doing, but for the most part it’s the same.
“Clearly it [game plan] hasn’t been getting it done in September the last few years but we are still really confident that the way we play not only puts us there [finals], but it gives us a chance [at winning a premiership].
“We’ve had a chance [to win] in each of those games [recent finals] and been in front in the last quarter in each of them, we’ve just got to do a better job at finishing our work.”
One player set to play another key role in the GIANTS’ success in 2026 is skipper Toby Greene, with Kingsley providing an injury update on the star forward who is looking to prove his fitness to represent Victoria in the Origin clash against Western Australia at Optus Stadium in February.
“He’s been one of those guys in rehab for the most part with a sore glute,” Kingsley said.
“It feels like he’ll be back on deck next week. I am mindful I’ve said that in the past and it hasn’t quite panned out like that but I think he’ll be back on deck on Monday.
“He’s saying all the right things and his body is feeling good but again we’ll take it step by step, and while we won't nurse him through this period as he’s working quite hard, we won’t take any risks at this time of year.
“Clearly we encourage our players to want to play [Origin], we think it’s a great idea. We want as many of our players in that Origin team as we possibly can, but they’ve got to be ready to play.
“A couple of our players have some boxes to tick before they really qualify to play, and Toby is one of those guys who probably ends up now being touch and go on that decision.
“But we’ll do our best to get him as fit as we can to get ready for that game as well as our season and hopefully he takes the steps he needs to take.”
2024 Coleman Medallist Jesse Hogan will also have to prove his fitness to pull on the WA jumper, as he continues his recovery from post-season foot surgery after an injury-interrupted 2025 campaign.
“He’s also one of those guys who needs to be ticking a few boxes before he’s cleared to play.
“Clearly we know he’s an important player for us, and he’s taking some steps forward. I’d imagine he’s probably a fortnight away from joining the group roughly. He’s on track for the plan that was mapped out.”
Kingsley also provided an update on a pair of longer-term injured stars in speedster Darcy Jones [knee] and star midfielder Josh Kelly [hip].
“Darcy is a little ahead of schedule but I’m a little hesitant to rush him back in either.
“We need to be patient with him, even though he’s tracking really well. I don’t know the timelines, and I won’t speculate on them, but we’ll probably see him in the middle to back half of the year – that would be the initial timeline. He’s ahead of that but I don’t think he will be ahead of that based off our decision making.
“Josh had really significant hip surgery that’s going to take time to settle.
“He’s up and mobile now which is great but again we need to make sure that is completely healed before he starts running, and training, and playing. That’ll be more of a long-term view with him. He won’t start running for at least a few months, if not longer.
“I’d like him to be available [this year], that third quarter [against the Hawks in last year’s Elimination Final] was pretty special. I’d like four of those per game please if possible, but we’ll cross that bridge with him when it comes.”
The GIANTS will kickstart their 2026 campaign with a blockbuster Opening Round clash with the Hawks at ENGIE Stadium on Saturday, March 7.
