Giants defender Phil Davis has emerged from his late-season challenges last year with unshaken belief as he vows to win back his spot in Leon Cameron’s best side.
A year removed from Cameron’s bold call to drop captain Stephen Coniglio – and with Lachie Keeffe and Jack Buckley injured – Davis could not get back into the team after recovering from a concussion.
He even missed Greater Western Sydney’s one-point triumph over the Swans, who they meet again in a practice match at Albury on Friday from 6pm.
The 31-year-old former co-captain ended up being a late inclusion for the Giants’ semi-final defeat to Geelong, after Jake Stein held him out for three straight matches.
But it was a reality check for Davis, who admitted the knee injury he sustained in 2020 had impacted him.
“It was difficult and just a change to the norm, but I think if you ask anyone, once you get older … performance is king,” he told News Corp.
“I understand that my performance before my concussion (in Round 20) was just solid without being spectacular. Players come in and replace you, but that’s elite sport.
“Selection pressure is really important for any side – and no one should be immune to that.”
The fact GWS went on a winning streak without Davis, and that Stein was performing well, made the situation more complicated.
The scenario coincided with him being out of contract, which added drama to the story, although not for Davis.
“I was never too concerned about getting a contract. There was one basically all year sitting there for me,” he said.
“I wanted to make sure I wanted to keep on playing AFL footy. You need a certain drive to play at the top level, because it demands a lot and doesn’t take kindly to people who are half-in.
“I did a bit of thinking and it became an easy decision. I’ve still very much got that hunger.”
Asked if he considered playing elsewhere, Davis said he was proud of what he had achieved at the Giants – on- and off-field – and wanted to end his career there.
That won’t necessarily be at the end of this season, even though he re-signed for only one year.
“I know that Leon’s got a lot of belief in me and I’ve got a lot of belief in myself,” Davis said.
“I always knew that I had the ability to play on. I still, to this day, think I’ve got a few more years of good, quality football ahead of me.
“At the moment, I’m loving it, so we’ll see how the year transpires to see what I want to do going forward.”
Lance Franklin is expected to play limited minutes in the six-quarter practice match on Friday night but xjmtzywDavis, who has had plenty of great battles with the Sydney superstar, was unsure who would get the job.
“Whoever gets ‘Buddy’, whether it be me, Sam Taylor, Jake Stein, Lachie Keeffe or Connor Idun, there’s a lot of options there for us,” Davis said.
“Sam’s a terrific young player with a very bright future ahead of him. He’s going to be a multiple All-Australian by the time his career is all said and done.”
