GREATER Western Sydney will unleash captain Toby Greene more through the midfield this season, as Giants coach Adam Kingsley looks to spice up his onball options across 2026.
Greene has been hampered by a glute issue across the summer, but has trained exclusively with the midfield group when fit, with Kingsley tipping the mercurial veteran to spend the bulk of his time in the centre this year.
The three-time All-Australian has been able to pick and choose his midfield minutes in the past, though Kingsley has driven the decision for Greene to spend more time as an onballer ahead of the upcoming campaign.
Speaking exclusively to AFL.com.au this week, Kingsley said the club was still tossing up Greene’s exact mid-forward splits but predicted the 32-year-old could return to being a predominantly midfield player this season.
“He has [trained with the midfielders] in pre-season. Whether we go like that, we’ll just see how it unfolds,” Kingsley said.
“He will spread his time more through the midfield this year than what he has in the past. Whether that’s as a 50/50 split, whether that’s more time as a midfielder than a forward, we’re not sure yet. But we’ll put him through the midfield a lot more than what we have.”
Toby Greene at the Giants’ training session at Wollongong on January 21, 2026. Picture: Phil Hillyard
Greene burst onto the scene as a teenaged midfielder more than a decade ago, averaging 28 disposals in two of his first three seasons in the AFL, but has settled more as a forward across his decorated 261-game career.
However, the club has looked to its veteran captain for inspiration as it seeks to supercharge a new-look midfield group that has already been bolstered by the arrival of Clayton Oliver from Melbourne.
Greene and Oliver have joined Tom Green, Finn Callaghan and Stephen Coniglio in the club’s new midfield rotation, with Kingsley praising his skipper’s influence in embracing a relatively new positional challenge across recent months.
“I think it’s important, you need to throw different challenges at guys,” Kingsley said.
“Toby has been training as a forward for a long period of time, he probably knows how to play as a forward reasonably well.
“Maybe it’s a different challenge of spending some more time at stoppage, more time in midfield meetings, spreading his influence across not only the forwards but maybe the midfielders as well across a whole pre-season.
“Training with them, those guys get intimate knowledge around just how hard Toby trains and why he is the player he is across a long period of time, not just last year or the year before.”
Greene, who will turn 33 in September, was named for his fifth consecutive season as the club’s captain earlier this month and remains one of the competition’s most influential players.
After Greene overcame a glute injury to ensure he will take part for Victoria in this weekend’s AAMI AFL Origin clash, Kingsley said the skipper was still at his best and could play on for many more years to come.
“Who knows [how long he can play]? He certainly feels like he’s still at the peak of his powers right now. That doesn’t look like deserting him anytime soon,” Kingsley said.
“He’s still got a real hunger, he’s still got a real appetite to work. He works as hard, if not harder, than any player we have. He prepares better than any player we have. We’re a bunch of really good preparers and he leads the pack in that space. I think he’s still got a lot of footy in him.”
