Former GWS captain Toby Greene's move to Geelong has been likened to an abandonment by his former Giants teammates.
The Giants' greatest player in their 15-year history, Greene left for the Cats in search of more family support for his young clan in his home state Victoria.
It was a sucker punch for the Giants, who had already parted ways with veteran forwards Jesse Hogan (Collingwood) and Jake Stringer (St Kilda).
The Giants' list overhaul did not end there, with star defender Lachie Whitfield (Carlton) and Kieren Briggs (Richmond) also leaving.
Young GWS defender Joe Fonti didn't waste time sugarcoating when asked about Greene's trade to the Cats.
"It's obviously hard when your captain abandons your side," Fonti said on Monday.
"I know Toby's a great, great fella, and he would have had his reasons.
"I suppose that sort of justifies it for him, so I can respect that.
"But it's not easy when your captain abandons you.
"It does sting a little bit, but yeah, onto bigger and better things, I guess."
The Giants at least received a vote of confidence in their mission from midfield Tom Green.
Due to come off contract at the end of next season, vice-captain Green knocked back big money from Tasmania and instead added two more years to his deal at GWS.
The 25-year-old, who missed all of last season with an ACL tear, has long been touted as Greene's replacement as captain.
Star defender Connor Idun is also a ready-made leader for the Giants after serving as a vice-captain last season with Green.
"It's definitely really special that that's something that he's done and committed to the club," Fonti said of Green.
"He's one of our best leaders, really well-spoken and a great role model.
"To have him potentially step into that captaincy role would be really special.
"We've got a bunch of good leaders, so it could be anyone, but he's definitely one of them."
The Giants have lost 1088 games of experience during the trade period, but Fonti says the young group are ready to rise to the challenge.
Fonti, who has played 44 games across three seasons, will be looking to take up Whitfield's spot in defence.
"That's really cool and exciting that we've sort of got a young core coming through," Fonti said.
"A lot of what's coming from the media at the moment is that we're young and we potentially might struggle this year.
"But I don't see it in that way whatsoever. We play our best when our backs are against the wall."
