22 Facts About Callan Ward

Callan Ward previously played for the Western Bulldogs from 2008 to 2011.

Callan Ward was one of three inaugural Greater Western Sydney co-captains, leading the club for eight seasons, and is the club's games record holder with 258 games.

Callan Ward is the grandson of former South Melbourne captain Bill Gunn, who played 104 games for the club between 1952 and 1959.

Callan Ward grew up in the Melbourne suburb of Spotswood and played junior football for Spotswood Football Club in the Western Region Football League.

Callan Ward was selected by the Bulldogs with their second selection after being a mere 20 days old enough to nominate for the draft.

Callan Ward made his debut against St Kilda in round 11 of the 2008 season, collecting 12 disposals and finishing with one goal.

Callan Ward missed the first half of the 2010 season through injury, but returned to play the rest of the season and finals series.

Callan Ward had his best season for the Bulldogs in 2011, playing in all 22 games and averaging 21 disposals, including a 29-disposal, best-on-ground performance against Adelaide in round 13.

On 5 September 2011, Callan Ward announced that he had signed with the Greater Western Sydney Giants; he was the second player to publicly announce his commitment to the new franchise club.

Callan Ward was announced as one of three inaugural co-captains for the club, alongside Phil Davis and Luke Power.

Callan Ward went on to win the Giants' inaugural best-and-fairest award, named the Kevin Sheedy Medal after their coach, Kevin Sheedy.

Callan Ward enjoyed a solid season in 2013, despite the club winning only one game for the year; Callan Ward was named best-on-ground for his 31 disposals and four goals in that game, against Melbourne.

Callan Ward followed up with another consistent season in 2014, in which he polled fifteen Brownlow Medal votes.

Callan Ward had a career-best season in 2015, playing all 22 games and averaging 25 disposals, and polling a club-record nineteen Brownlow votes.

Callan Ward had another consistent season in 2016, during which the Giants made finals for the first time, securing their first finals win against Sydney, and fell six points short of making the Grand Final after losing to Callan Ward's former club, the Western Bulldogs.

Callan Ward played all 25 games the following season, averaging 27 disposals.

In 2018, Callan Ward played his 200th game in round 8 against West Coast, and played his 150th game for the Giants in round 19 against St Kilda.

Callan Ward sustained a knee injury during the 2019 pre-season, meaning that he would miss the first few rounds of the season and his consecutive games streak would end at 95 games.

Callan Ward returned against Geelong in round 4; however, five minutes into the game, he suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury, ruling him out for the rest of the season.

Callan Ward later began assisting Giants coach Leon Cameron on the interchange bench during matches while recovering from his injury.

Callan Ward made a successful return from injury in round 2 of the 2020 season against North Melbourne.

Callan Ward missed the round 5 match against Hawthorn due to soreness, before suffering a right knee injury upon his return against Port Adelaide the following week.