Callan Ward set to make AFL return for GWS Giants after stint on a job site

Just as the GWS Giants star was on the verge of an AFL return, the entire season came to a grinding halt as officials came to grips with the COVID-19 pandemic.

But rather than growing frustrated about his comeback from a major knee injury being derailed with the competition on hiatus, Ward went to work - quite literally.

Ward traded his football boots for work boots and turned up on a job site at the Walsh Bay pier to fill the time between training sessions at home.

Now he is on the cusp of a return to normality as he prepares to make an overdue return from an anterior cruciate ligament tear suffered in April last year.

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The 30-year-old will make his long-awaited return when GWS resume their AFL campaign against North Melbourne at Giants Stadium on Sunday, June 14.

Injury kept him out of the club's run to a maiden grand final appearance and a lockdown of sorts pushed back his return even further, keeping Ward and his teammates away from headquarters.

So Ward spent a few days per week working on building sites and levelling floors in ageing buildings on the Walsh Bay pier while he waited for football to return.

"I'm loving it, it's been good. I'm only doing three or four days a week so it's not too much, but I'm enjoying it. They're all good blokes and I'm learning quite a bit which is good," Ward said.

"We spent weeks trying to level all the floors. The buildings are over 100 years old so the floors are all pretty bad. We're trying to put new floors down and make sure it's all level.

"I've done my Certificate IV and my diploma in building construction over the past three or four years.

"I got a new player sponsor last year who runs a building company so it just worked out that if I want to learn how to do a few things on site, I can do some work experience with him. Aidan Corr and Harry Perryman have been doing it as well.

"There were a few weeks there where I wasn't doing much. It was good to spend time at home with my wife and new son Romeo, it's been great spending time with them.

"It does give me something to do, and it has been good to do something different and work out what the real world is like in a way."

Giants coach Leon Cameron is confident Ward will be fit to play when the Giants resume their campaign, with the AFL on course for a June 11 return.

The competition has been slashed to 17 matches which has led some to say there will be an asterisk next to the name of the eventual premiers in the record books.

But Ward says having less games creates a smaller margin for error, and the difficulties posed by the coronavirus pandemic in turn potentially makes this premiership more difficult to win.

The Giants are among the premiership favourites with the squad yearning to avenge their hefty grand final loss at the hands of the Richmond Tigers last season.

"I was pretty close to being ready to play when they suspended the season, so in my mind I wouldn't mind getting straight into it," Ward said.

"For me, I really didn't play last year, I played one game. In that one game I played for five minutes before I did my knee so it really has been a wait since 2018 when I played a game.

"I can't wait to play. I'm sure everyone is excited to get back out there and be playing again. We've got a huge amount of motivation to improve on last year and have a huge season.

"It's going to be tough to win games as always, and games are going to be more important now because there's not as many of them. Our guys and myself are just really looking forward to getting stuck in again."