GIANTS star Tom Green says the addition of Clayton Oliver will far from hinder his own game, believing the two can work seamlessly together to not only get the best out of each other, but their midfield teammates as well. 

Himself one of the league’s best contested midfielders and the reigning GIANTS club champion, Green will have a new inside force alongside him in the GIANTS engine room in 2026 after the club landed Oliver from the Demons on the final day of last year's trade period.  

A three-time All Australian and two-time AFLCA Player of the Year, Oliver is also widely regarded as one of the league’s premier contested ball winners and is sure to add further firepower to a midfield already boasting the likes of Green and emerging superstar Finn Callaghan. 

While some pundits believe the similarity between Green and Oliver’s playing style may make the GIANTS’ midfield too one dimensional, Green is confident that he and the premiership-winning Demon cannot only co-exist, but thrive together in the same side.  

“We all know what a superstar player he is, his resume speaks for itself, and he’s been fantastic to work with,” Green said of Oliver’s addition while speaking at the club’s open training session in Wollongong on Wednesday.  

“I think the roles that we have in the midfield will complement each other because I suppose neither of us have to carry as heavy a load in that space [winning contested footy], so other areas of our game can flourish as well.  

“I think our styles mixed with Finn [Callaghan] and the balance of our other midfielders is going to jell really really well and will help everybody’s games out.  

“It’s about picking and choosing our moments, we don’t want to both be going for the same ball all the time, which we haven’t really yet. He’s a really smart player so we’ve been able to bounce off each other and understand when it is our time and when it’s not.  

“It’ll take some time for that chemistry to develop throughout the year, but I think that’s something that GIANTS fans will be able to see throughout the year.” 

Green revealed that he and Oliver already had a history together, sharing that he received some beneficial advice from the former Demon years ago when finding his feet in the AFL.  

“He’s actually helped me out in my career before he came here, which is something I'll forever be grateful to him for,” Green said.  

“It was mainly about body composition during the year,” Green shared regarding the advice.  

“When you’re a young player you get really fit in pre-season and then there’s a drop off in season when its mainly about recovery during the week and playing on the weekend. 

“It can be easy to put on weight or not stay quite as running fit [during the season] because you’re not doing quite as much training, and one of our old coaches put me into contact with him [Oliver] and he gave me a few tips on how you can stay fitter during the year so that you can run out the season better.  

“I think that’s why the last three years, for the most part, I’ve been able to run out seasons really well, and that was off the back of some advice he gave me a few years ago. So, it’s nice now having him here up close and personal.” 

Highlighting Stephen Coniglio, Ryan Angwin, Nick Madden, Joe Fonti, and Harry Rowston as some of his other teammates really showing strong signs throughout the summer, Green said the GIANTS pre-season was ticking along nicely. 

“It’s been really good so far. It’s been a hard pre-season, as they always are. 

“We’ve had some very different conditions. We trained in 42 degrees and then we also trained in torrential rain the other day, so it’s been a little bit all over the place but it's preparing us well for the season. 

“We are in some heavy weeks now where training is really hard and you’ve got to really dig deep and push through, but it’s been really good. 

“Everyone looks really fit and for the most part we are pretty healthy too.” 

As part of this week's pre-season training camp in Wollongong, the GIANTS held an open training session at North Dalton Park on Wednesday, with almost 100 local kids participating in an AFL Junior Super Clinic held after Wednesday’s training session. 

The GIANTS will kickstart their 2026 campaign in a blockbuster Opening Round clash with the Hawks at ENGIE Stadium on Saturday, March 7.