Jonathan Giles Biography

A degenerative knee issue forces West Coast ruckman Jonathan Giles to retire.

Giles, who had a contract for 2018, leaves the AFL after 63 games at four clubs over six seasons.

"The knee was no good; the osteoarthritis from several years of bone-on-bone has got the better of it," Giles said.

"I step away from AFL footy knowing that I gave everything I had, left no stone unturned and scrapped for every opportunity possible.

"I’d sincerely like to thank the club for the opportunity to continue my dream of an AFL career and I wish my teammates and the club every success moving forward."

With the Eagles' ruck stocks depleted, Jonathan Giles will get his opportunity to fill the ruck void for West Coast.

"He's aware that he's got to fight for his spot in the side and over summer he did that and he was performing really well," Eagles teammate Sharrod Wellingham said of Giles.

"I know that as soon as the matchplay came around he was a really dominant ruckman in our intraclub matches.

"If he continues that vein of form he'll be really handy for us."

West Coast boosts its ruck stocks by securing the services of Jonathan Giles via a trade with Essendon.

Giles heads west along with Essendon's fourth-round pick in the NAB AFL draft (No.62) in exchange for the Eagles third-round pick (No.57).

"We're delighted to have Jonathan join our club," Eagles football manager Craig Vozzo said.

"Jonathan is a very good ruckman, he's mature and he can push forward. He is an impressive person and we believe he will be a good fit for our football club."

Giles says he is well aware of the role he has signed for at the Eagles.

"Nic Nat's obviously the No.1 ruckman. He's a superstar of the comp," Giles said.

"They obviously have a couple of other ruckmen that are developing in Lycett and (Fraser) McInnes.

"They saw my role coming across was to be amongst the mix in the rucks there and to support Nic and to support these other young guys and to provide competition and to help those guys out and develop."

Jonathan Giles says having to wait for his opportunities at Essendon has been frustrating, but familiar.

"I came to Essendon and obviously wanted to make an immediate impact from the get-go, and when I didn't get selected I was disappointed at the start of the year," Giles said.

"But from my previous experiences at Port and the Giants, I knew there was only one way to react and that's to train hard and play better. That's all you can do."

Giles was traded to Essendon last year, after also considering joining Adelaide. He couldn't see himself getting back into the Giants' team, liked the idea of playing for a big Melbourne club and saw some of the Bombers' brighter young players on the horizon.

But Giles hasn't had the sort of senior exposure he might have hoped for. Despite the Bombers' woes in the ruck after losing Paddy Ryder to Port and then Tom Bellchambers to injury, they turned to ruck/forward Shaun McKernan instead of Giles.

After McKernan was smashed in round 16 by Todd Goldstein, coach James Hird defended his selection, saying Giles needed to compete more around the ground before winning his first game game in red and black.

"When Tommy unfortunately went down they went with Shaun and he had a good crack in there. 'I just had to keep working hard, like I did all year, and not doubt myself," Giles said.

"I know a lot of the spotlight was on why I wasn't playing, but it doesn't really affect me. I just went about my normal business. It was probably more my friends and family who were asking what's happening, but for me I knew what I had to do.

"The only way I was going to get in that team was to keep improving and force my way in."

Essendon coach James Hird has again overlooked ruckman Jonathan Giles because he didn't want to drop Shaun McKernan after one poor game, despite the club's ruck troubles.

McKernan was soundly beaten by North Melbourne ruckman Todd Goldstein last week in a match-up that Hird said was the difference between the sides.

Giles performed well at VFL level the next day, recording 29 hit-outs, kicking two goals and showing more around the ground, but has failed to break through for his first senior game in Essendon colours after being traded to the club last year following three seasons with Greater Western Sydney.

The recruitment of Giles and his continual non-selection has been puzzling, given the Bombers' issues in the ruck and a long-term injury to Tom Bellchambers.

But the Bombers have resisted picking Giles for Saturday night's clash with Port Adelaide at Etihad Stadium, instead choosing McKernan to shoulder the load against Power duo Paddy Ryder and Matthew Lobbe.

"I don't think it's about Jonathan, it's more about Shaun. I don't think that after one performance when you get beaten that you throw a player out," Hird said.

"I think Shaun's brought something to the team which has been good and I certainly don't believe that you throw a player away and go and get another one just on one performance. Shaun's got an opportunity this week and we hope he performs."

Jonathan Giles says a discussion with Essendon coach James Hird convinced him that moving from the Giants to the Bombers would be the right decision.

"Hirdy played a massive part ... I had a chat with him before the trade stuff happened and he was pretty much the reason I came here," Giles said.

"The way he sold the club and said where he wants to take the club and where he thinks this club can go - I definitely wanted to be a part of that."

Essendon coach James Hird says the club has had its eye on new recruit Jonathan Giles for awhile now.

"We have been keeping track of Jonathan for quite a while," Hird said.

"Adrian Dodoro, who has done an amazing job in this trade period, brought Jonathan here back in the 2011 pre-season and he did a week of training here."

"We have been watching his progression since that time and he has been fantastic for GWS."

Jonathan Giles is traded to the Bombers in the final hours of the NAB AFL Trade Period along with NAB AFL Draft selection No.62.

In exchange, Greater Western Sydney receives the Bombers' third round selection of No.53.

Jonathan Giles has nominated Essendon as his preferred new home over Adelaide after meeting with both clubs.

"Jonathan obviously had a big decision to make. He met with both Essendon and Adelaide over the last couple of days and he's made a decision this morning that he feels from a football point of view that his opportunities will be greater at Essendon," Giles' manager Tom Petroro said.

"I think he's really enjoyed his time at GWS.

"Once the season finished he weighed it all up and thought well hopefully there's some clubs interested and my opportunity would be better elsewhere."

Jonathan Giles is seeking a trade from Greater Western Sydney after struggling for opportunities behind Shane Mumford in 2014.

Giles, 26, is contracted at GWS to the end of next season, but the ruckman told the club in his post-season review that he was keen to find a new football home after being overlooked for senior selection in the second half of 2014.

After establishing himself as GWS' No. 1 ruckman, Jonathan Giles says he still wants to continue improving.

"I'm a lot more confident in myself. Last year was a start and I want to continually improve on what happened last year," Giles said.

"I made sure I had a big pre-season and did everything right so that this year I can keep getting better.

"Every other player and every other club is working hard, so you can't rest, you have to keep getting better."

Gws ruckman Jonathan Giles has rejected offers to move from the Giants, signing a new three-year deal with the club.

"After waiting a long time to get an opportunity to play AFL football, I really enjoyed my first year at the Giants. There's no doubt there's a lot of terrific young talent at the club and it has a really exciting future," Giles said.

Greater Western Sydney and ruckman Jonathan Giles are at an impasse over money, according to Giants list manager Stephen Silvagni.

"We would certainly like Jonathan to remain at the club, but having said that it's got down to a money issue and certainly we understand that from Jonathan's point of view," Silvagni said.

"What we've put on the table we feel is fair and reasonable. We'd like to retain him but obviously we've only got so much [money] to go around. We've just got to make sure we do the right thing by the club."

Giants list manager Stephen Silvagni says it is now up to ruckman Jonathan Giles if he wants to remain at the club.

"He has to decide if he wants to be part of this football club," Silvagni said.

"We've offered him a contract and now it's his decision. He's a required player."

Jonathan Giles makes his AFL debut for GWS at Stadium Australia with 12 disposals (6 kicks and 6 handballs), 3 marks, 2 tackles, 26 hitouts and a goal in a 63-point loss to Sydney.

GWS coach Kevin Sheedy says the story of Jonathan Giles should provide an example to all budding footballers, particularly ruckman.

"He's not a chicken, he's been out there and done it, and ruckmen often take that little bit more time," Sheedy said.

"It's a very difficult task being a top-class ruckman and not many walk into AFL and get it right straight away in their first or second year of being drafted."

After being cut by Port Adelaide, ruckman Jonathan Giles didn't stop believing - and nor did the GWS recruiting staff.

"When you get delisted you hit rock bottom," he said.

"And you start thinking: 'Was that my chance?' You do doubt yourself. You have a couple of weeks to think and all you want to do is get back out there and play. I really thought I could still offer something at an AFL club."

Port Adelaide has delisted Nick Lower, Jonathan Giles, Matthew Martin and Jesse Laurie while Daniel Stewart has been upgraded from the rookie list.

"Both Jon and Nick have been quality people to have around the footy club, and we thank them for that and wish them all the best," football operations manager Peter Rohde said of Giles and Lower.