Toby Greene makes decision on future

Toby Greene will leave GWS with the intention to join Geelong as an unrestricted free agent.

Long-time Giants CEO Dave Matthews has confirmed that the club captain has made up his mind after wrestling with the decision.

“This morning he has decided that he and Georgia are looking to move back to Victoria for family reasons with the intention of joining Geelong,” Matthews said on SEN’s Whateley.

“That’s the decision he has made and we certainly respect that. He’s been a celebrated figure at our club, a very important person and I know this his has been a really tough decision.

“One he’s largely made for family reasons.”

Greene will sign a three-year deal with the Cats on less than $1 million per year plus incentives.

SEN's Sam Edmund says the Cats had two offers in front of Greene relating to the club's now failed pursuit of Zak Butters - an "If Butters comes" offer and an "If Butters does not come" offer.

Matthews, who is also parting ways with the Giants, admitted it was an emotional phone call between he and Greene this morning.

“Yeah it was. I love the guy, and Georgia as well,” he added.

“They’ve got the young family with Isla and they’ve got further plans there.

“We’ve been working together since the day of the draft in November 2011. It’s been a long journey.

“We talked about that we’re really proud about where the club has got to. The regret that he and I have had, as we both leave the club, is we haven’t been able to secure that premiership.

“Outside of that, he has been an enormous figure for our club and done everything possible, not just for the Giants, but for the AFL as well to grow this club and grow our presence.

“I’ve got nothing but respect for him and we’ll celebrate him properly. Obviously you’d love him to be a one-club player and you’d love see circumstances that supported that.

“But we understand the decision he’s made.”

The Giants chief was not overly surprised by the decision made by the beloved skipper.

“Normally when his number comes up he’s after concert tickets or race tips or other things,” Matthews continued.

“Look, you never really know what you're going to get when he rings you over the years.

“But I must admit I expected this. Probably the fact the decision dragged out really reflects how torn he's been and how much he feels a part of the Giants.

“He'll always be a Giant. He's a legend of the club. I guess it was just a matter of time for him to actually reach that decision, it has just been a really difficult one for him.

“I think that's probably a good reflection on our club that it's not an easy decision for him, and that tells you the club's in good shape and he feels such a strong affection to the playing group and enjoys playing for Adam Kingsley and all the things that go with it.

“So look, it's not a major surprise for me today. I've been just encouraging him along the way that any information he needed beyond what he already had, we're here to try to help support him think through it.

“You’d love him to have been a one-club player, but at the same time, 15 years of service is really significant.”

He insists this is much more a life decision than it is a football choice.

“I think it's primarily a family decision and Toby will say that too when he when he speaks publicly,” Matthews said further.

“He knows that we've got a playing list that can compete and every possibility of getting back up the top next year. I mean reality is we're possibly going to watch a side win the flag that we did belt during the year. We had a weird year because we had some injuries obviously and dropped some games we shouldn't have, but we beat a lot of the top sides.

“From a football point of view, I don't think there's any lack of confidence that he had in the football strategy. We've got stars on every line. So I expect that the club will compete and compete really hard. We're very stable off field.

“This is really a decision he's made about what's best for his family over the next two to three years in the twilight of his career.”

Greene, 32, has spent 15 years at the Giants and played a club record 282 games.

He is a two-time Kevin Sheedy Medal winner, three-time All-Australian and four-time leading goal kicker.