Giants want young gun to stay amid Victorian interest
A sore Aleer is likely to make way for Sam Taylor in this week's Sydney derby as speculation grows around the young defender's playing future.
Off-contract at season's end, Aleer has been heavily linked with a move to St Kilda.
The 23-year-old has struggled to crack into a stacked Giants defence - boasting the likes of Lachie Whitfield, Lachie Ash and Jack Buckley - since being drafted with pick No.15 in 2021.
He has only played 20 games so far.
Leek Aleer with an early contender for MOTY 🤯 @VFL pic.twitter.com/FIKVZUFUsI
— GWS GIANTS (@GWSGIANTS) March 29, 2025
An injury to Taylor opened the door for Aleer to return to the side in round 11, and he has held onto his spot since.
But with Taylor passed fit for Friday night and Aleer managing soreness, coach Kingsley admits the fourth-year Giant is unlikely to retain his spot.
Aleer will be one of three changes, with star duo Josh Kelly and Jesse Hogan also available after being rested last week.
"Leek didn't do much today (at training). He was a bit sore, so we'll assess that again with our medicos," Kingsley said on Wednesday.
"He probably looks unlikely to play at this stage, I would think.
"It's going to be a really difficult decision, and a difficult match committee that we're going to have.
"Some unlucky guys are going to miss out."
As contract negotiations continue, Kingsley could only praise the young star's attitude amid growing interest.
"His decision will be his decision," Kingsley said.
"We hope he stays. We know there's a lot of interest in him, and he's going to be a really good player, we know that.
"He's handling it extremely well. I haven't noticed a change in behaviour at all.
"He's head down, bum up, getting to work, making sure he prepares really well and then performing well.
"Maybe in private time, it's different, but certainly when he presents at the club, that's what I see."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
'England should consider Brook when Stokes is out'
England should consider making Harry Brook captain if Ben Stokes suffers further time on the sidelines, according to former skipper Michael Vaughan. All-rounder Stokes is missing the final Test against India at The Oval because of a shoulder injury, with vice-captain Ollie Pope deputising. The 34-year-old's recovery is likely to take around eight weeks, before the Ashes series in Australia beginning in November. Yorkshire's Brook became England's white-ball captain earlier this year, winning his first series in full-time charge against West Indies. "Harry Brook, to me, looks a leader. He looks a born leader," Vaughan told the Test Match Special podcast. "If Ben Stokes is injured in the future can't Pope stay as vice-captain and Harry Brook gets the leadership role?" Crawley falls late as India take upper hand 'England chasing history after backing themselves into a corner' Vaughan is regarded as one of the finest captains to have led England, masterminding the famous 2005 Ashes series win. He won 26 of his 51 Tests in charge between 2003 and 2008. He added: "I look at someone like Ollie Pope, who looks a fantastic vice-captain. He is brilliant person to have next to the captain to come up with ideas. Sometimes vice-captains aren't brilliant captains. "Marcus Trescothick was a magnificent vice-captain for me but you wouldn't to give him the captaincy." Pope, 27, is leading England in a Test for the fifth time. He previously stood in when Stokes had a hamstring injury last year. Under Pope, the home side face an uphill task to win the decisive fifth Test. After being set 374 to beat India, a target that would represent their second-highest successful chase in a Test, they closed the third day on 50-1. On Saturday, without the injured Chris Woakes, England were left relying on trio of seamers Gus Atkinson, Josh Tongue and Jamie Overton. Though they were eventually able to dismiss India for 396 in their second innings, England were hampered by six dropped catches. "It is not Ollie Pope's fault England are in this position. It is the dropped catches," said Vaughan. "There were a couple of times he nipped off the field, it might have been for a comfort break, but it looked like he was going off for tactical advice. "I don't know well enough and am not in the dressing room. I just want the best captain who is the best leader leading the England side. I don't think a good vice-captain will necessarily be a good captain." England's highest run chase of 378 came against India three years ago at Edgbaston. They also successfully overhauled 371 against the same opponents to win the first Test of this series at Headingley. "We're pretty chilled," said Tongue. "There won't be any over-thinking about it. "I got asked the same question at Headingley. I don't see why we can't chase down these runs. "How we play is very positive and exciting. With the batting line-up we've got, I can't see why we can't give it a good go." Get cricket news sent straight to your phone
Fox News
7 hours ago
- Fox News
Angel Reese jokingly blames teammate of Caitlin Clark, Sophie Cunningham for sex toy fiasco: 'Getting weird'
A sex toy plague has hit the WNBA, as two games this week - both Golden State Valkyries road games - had a neon green dildo thrown on the court. On Friday night, a matchup between the Valkyries and the Sky in Chicago was interrupted in the third quarter when the object flew across the court. The officials stopped the game to remove the lime green adult toy, and play continued. Indiana Fever star Sophie Cunningham pleaded with the culprits to "stop throwing dildos on the court," but Angel Reese placed the blame - jokingly - on one of Cunningham's, and Caitlin Clark's, teammates. "hey [Sydney Colson] why do you keep throwing your mean green in different arenas…. it's getting weird," Reese posted on X late Friday night. Colson replied with a photo of herself smirking - while wearing a green jacket. Reese and Colson have had playful banter before. After Reese was part of the championship-winning Unrivaled league team, she got a $50,000 bonus. That prompted Colson to crack a joke about Reese giving her the money. "Hey angel girl, just wanted to check in and see how ur doing and just let u know I'm here for u if u need anything…esp if u need to get rid of 50k by tomorrow or anything like that…" Colson wrote to Reese on social media. Colson was declined. "hey sista. i'm doing well. just won 50k on a flight. I know you are VERY aware & i'm sorry to break it to you but i'm on a rookie contract & that 50k was a little more than half of my contract so I have to keep that to myself…. sorry :( give me a few years and i gotchu. be well," Reese replied. It's unclear whether anyone was ejected from the game for throwing the object.
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
The dream lives on for Australian swim champ
Cam McEvoy, now an Olympic and world champion, doesn't know when he'll swim again. "But I'm not stopping," McEvoy said. "Imagine telling myself in 2022 this is where I'd be - you couldn't write a script like that. "The dream lives on, right? My story just goes for a while." McEvoy almost quit the sport in 2022. After much soul-searching he continued, vowed to do things his way, and created his own revolutionary training regime. Now, he's the Olympic and world champion in the 50m freestyle. In Singapore on Saturday night, the 31-year-old became Australia's oldest gold medallist at a world championships - three weeks after becoming a dad for the first time. "Shoutout to (wife) Maddi at home, I couldn't be here without her; shoutout to Hartley, my three-week-old son," he said. "I'm going straight to the newborn trenches. "I'll start to do the night routines, help Maddi, and just enjoy the bubble, really. "It sounds cliche, but win or lose, I'm going home a winner. "It has given me a new light on the sport, on life, something new to navigate. "And I'll see where it takes me in the future." McEvoy's latest success came as Kaylee McKeown captured another gold on Saturday night, in the women's 200m backstroke. McKeown has now completed 100-200 backstroke golden doubles at her past two world championships, and also at last year's Olympics. "I wasn't feeling too great heading in, a bit of illness and stuff going around, dealing with a bit of a shoulder (injury)," said McKeown, who dislocated a shoulder leading into the titles. "I dug really deep." Australia's Lani Pallister (women's 800m freestyle) and Alexandria Perkins (women's 50m butterfly) also collected silver on Saturday night. Australia, with seven gold, four silver and six bronze medals, enter Sunday's final night of competition behind only the United States (seven, 11, seven) on the medal tally.
