The GIANTS have confirmed their AFL coaching structure for the 2027 season, with a new look line-up combining experience, continuity, and emerging coaching talent. 

Adam Kingsley will return for his fifth season as Head Coach, supported by a coaching group tasked with helping the GIANTS return to premiership contention. 

2027 Coaching Structure:  

• Adam Kingsley - Head Coach 

• Craig Jennings - Head of Development and Coach Education 

• Adam Read - Forwards and Offence Coach 

• Wayne Cripps - Midfield and Stoppage Coach 

• Jason Davenport – Midfield Transition and Training Coordinator  

• Robbie Chancellor - Backline and Team Defence Coach 

• Trent Dennis-Lane - VFL Head Coach 

• Ryan Burton - Development Coach 

Adam Kingsley – Head Coach 

Kingsley will return for his fifth season as Head Coach in 2027. 

Appointed following the conclusion of the 2022 season, Kingsley arrived in the orange and charcoal with an impressive résumé. A premiership player and best and fairest winner with Port Adelaide, where he played 170 games, Kingsley moved straight into coaching and held assistant roles at Port Adelaide and St Kilda before playing a key role in Richmond’s 2019 and 2020 premierships. 

In his first four seasons in charge, Kingsley has taken the GIANTS to three finals campaigns and in 2023 was voted the Monjon Allan Jeans Senior Coach of the Year by his fellow AFL senior coaches after a brilliant debut season in charge of the club. 

Craig Jennings – Head of Development and Coach Education 

Highly respected coach Craig Jennings will take on the role of Head of Development and Coach Education. An AFL Level 4 accredited coach with more than two decades of experience across five AFL clubs, Jennings is renowned for his strategic expertise and commitment to professional development. His extensive background includes work across multiple areas of the game, most recently overseeing the GIANTS’ midfield and transition. 

Adam Read – Forwards and Offence Coach 

Adam Read joins the GIANTS as Forwards and Offence Coach following 19 years with Fremantle, where he worked across recruiting, development and coaching. Beginning as a South Australian recruiter in 2007, he moved into the coaching program and most recently combined a development role with leading Fremantle’s WAFL affiliate, Peel Thunder. 

Read guided Peel Thunder to WAFL premierships in 2024 and 2026 and coached Western Australia to consecutive Haydn Bunton Jr Cups in 2025 and 2026, breaking the state’s six-year drought. 

Wayne Cripps – Midfield and Stoppage Coach

Wayne Cripps will continue as the club’s Midfield and Stoppage Coach after stepping onto the senior coaching panel in 2026. 

Cripps joined the GIANTS ahead of the 2023 season as VFL Head Coach and AFL Development Coach, spending three seasons at the helm of the VFL program. Before arriving at the club, he guided the Sandringham Dragons to a Coates Talent League premiership and built a strong reputation for developing elite young talent. 

Jason Davenport – Midfield Transition and Training Coordinator

After joining the GIANTS ahead of the 2023 season as Head of Development, Jason Davenport will move into a line coaching role for the first time in 2027. A VFL premiership player and best and fairest winner with Geelong, who also played AFL football for Port Adelaide, Davenport brings extensive experience across AFL and elite junior pathways. 

Robbie Chancellor – Backline and Team Defence Coach

Robbie Chancellor will move from VFL Head Coach to lead the AFL backline and team defence in 2027. Chancellor joined the GIANTS ahead of the 2026 season following a successful stint in the AFL Sydney competition, where he was named Coach of the Year. He also brings previous AFL experience from roles at Hawthorn, Melbourne and St Kilda, along with senior coaching experience across the Coates Talent League and VFL. 

Trent Dennis Lane – VFL Head Coach and Development Coach

Trent Dennis-Lane has been elevated to VFL Head Coach after serving as a VFL Assistant Coach and AFL Development Coach. He joined the GIANTS ahead of the 2025 season and has built experience across the Coates Talent League, VFL and Next Generation Academy programs since transitioning into coaching following his AFL playing career. 

Ryan Burton – Development Coach

Former Port Adelaide and Hawthorn defender Ryan Burton will begin his coaching career with the GIANTS as a Development Coach. Selected by Hawthorn with pick 19 in the 2015 AFL Draft, Burton played 47 games for the Hawks before adding 115 games across seven seasons with Port Adelaide. He joins the GIANTS after playing with the Southport Sharks in the VFL in 2026.