Joe Fonti says Toby Greene's exit from GWS "stings a little bit"

GWS defender Joe Fonti says it "does sting a little bit" that Toby Greene has left the club for Geelong. Greene was the Giants' captain, and Fonti put it plainly: "It's obviously hard when your captain abandons your side."

Greene left after 15 seasons at the Giants. He moved through free agency, the route a player takes when his contract ends and he can choose his next club. ABC News reports that Greene went to Geelong to get more family support for his young family in Victoria, his home state.

Fonti, who has played 44 games over three seasons for GWS, did not criticise his former captain. "I know Toby's a great, great fella, and he would have had his reasons," he said. He still said it hurt. "But it's not easy when your captain abandons you."

Greene was not the only one to leave. Jesse Hogan went to Collingwood, and Jake Stringer went to St Kilda. Lachie Whitfield went to Carlton, and Kieren Briggs went to Richmond. The trade period, the window after the season when clubs can swap players, cost GWS 1,088 games of experience, according to the ABC.

The club now has to look for a new leader. Tom Green, the vice-captain, has been touted as Greene's replacement. Green is 25. He missed all of last season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL, a major knee ligament.

Green was due to come off contract at the end of next season. Instead, he extended with GWS. The ABC reports that he turned down a big-money offer from Tasmania to add two more years to his deal at the Giants.

Connor Idun was also a vice-captain last season, alongside Green. So the Giants have experience in their leadership group, even with Greene gone.

For fans, the names matter more than the numbers. Greene was the face of the club for 15 years, and that kind of loyalty is hard to replace in one off-season. Fonti's message was simple: the players still have to back each other, and they have to do it without the man who wore the captain's armband.