Ward, the heart and soul of the Giants since joining the expansion club for their debut season in 2012, did everything in his power to drag the underdogs to victory in an epic SCG qualifying final on Saturday.
The highlight was his second goal, delivered with eight minutes remaining in the match and from deep in the pocket after ducking out of a James Jordon tackle and weaving past Hayden McLean.
It would have proven a fitting match-winning effort.
Ward instead watched a storming Sydney make a mockery of the 13-point margin to snatch victory, a home preliminary final and a week off.
Callan Ward that is elite! 🔥— AFL (@AFL) #AFLFinals #AFLSwansGiants pic.twitter.com/eLroeIaNo9September 7, 2024
"They stepped up in big moments and we probably didn't in that last quarter," Ward told AAP.
"It's hard to lose a game like that.
"To lose it the way we did was disappointing, but it's just an opportunity missed. The good thing about finishing top four is that double chance.
"We've got that belief here that we're the best football team in the competition.
"We have a system that stands up in finals. We've all got full belief we can do that next week.
"We couldn't get the job done against the Swans, but we've still got that belief that we can beat anyone. We just need to play four quarters."
GWS must now defeat the Brisbane Lions at home on Saturday night then overcome Geelong at the MCG to advance to what would be the club's second grand final.Â
Nobody on the Giants' list has played more finals than Ward, who recently signed a one-year contract extension that his him poised to pull on the boots at age 35.
Ward has suffered three qualifying-final losses - two at the Dogs, one at GWS. All three were followed by semi-final wins.
"The most important thing for us as a mature club is to go away and learn from that loss, come back even better," the 314-gamer said.
"I've played in a lot of losing finals, had some wins as well. I understand how hard they are to win. We'll learn from those big moments."
"We only played three quarters. We played a very, very good three quarters. But it wasn't good enough."— 7AFL (@7AFL) - Adam Kingsley debriefs #AFLSwansGiants pic.twitter.com/Jct0fiyjd1September 7, 2024
Captain Toby Greene, so often the Swans' nemesis, had an unusually quiet outing with 12 touches and two behinds.
"He's probably the most influential player in the comp when he's up and about," Ward said.
"We all just love the way he plays and attacks the footy ... he always plays his role."
One upside for GWS was the output and composure of Aaron Cadman and Darcy Jones on finals debut.
Cadman (three goals, seven tackles) underlined why he was regarded as the best youngster in the 2022 draft, creating all manner of headaches for Sydney's defence.
"We've got some young guys playing really good footy," Ward said.
"I love playing with the young blokes, they bring that excitement. They just really enjoy their footy."
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