As the Greater Western Sydney (GWS) Giants gear up for a critical clash against the Gold Coast Suns this weekend with their thin finals hopes on the line, head coach Adam Kingsley has moved quickly to shut down swirling rumors of internal division surrounding star forward Jake Stringer. Recent media reports have claimed that the club’s leading goalkicker this season, who is currently out of contract for 2025, damaged trust within the playing group after a business venture he led collapsed. The failed project centered on a fish oil product, which drew investments from multiple current GWS players, coaches, and even staff from Stringer’s former club Essendon. Contrary to some speculation, all investors have already been fully refunded by Stringer, leaving no participants out of pocket from the failed initiative. Speaking to media on Friday morning, Kingsley flatly rejected claims of festering unrest in the Giants’ locker room, saying any reported issues are not evident within the club. “Yeah, no concerns from my areas,” Kingsley told reporters. “The issues, to me, don’t appear obvious and I don’t think it’s impacted our locker room at all. That’s what is reported but I don’t see it.” A veteran of the AFL, Stringer began his top-flight career with the Western Bulldogs, where he claimed a premiership flag in 2016, before moving to Essendon and eventually joining GWS. Beyond the Stringer controversy, Kingsley also addressed growing speculation linking the Giants to out-of-contract Richmond veteran Dion Prestia, who worked closely with Kingsley during the Tigers’ dominant premiership run in the late 2010s. The 33-year-old midfielder is set to hit free agency at the end of the current season, and media reports have suggested GWS could target him to bolster their midfield for a 2025 push. Kingsley did not rule out interest in the veteran star, but pushed any decision to the end of the current campaign. “That’s an end-of-the-season conversation and I haven’t spoken to Dion but I did see the photo of the giant meatball or whatever it was,” Kingsley joked. “He’s a terrific player, he has been a terrific player for a long period of time. I don’t know what his plans are for next year, whether he wants to play or coach I am not sure. But, again, we’ll cross those bridges at the end of the season.” For this weekend’s must-win match against Gold Coast, the Giants have received a major boost with the return of captain Toby Greene, who has recovered from a quadriceps injury that kept him sidelined in recent weeks. Greene’s comeback comes at a critical time, as GWS needs a win to keep its narrow post-season chances alive entering the final stretch of the regular AFL season.
AFL 2026: GWS coach dismisses player division over Jake Stringer’s failed business venture
