Callan Ward will spend this season living away from his wife and three children in a unique arrangement supported by the GIANTS.

The 34-year-old intended for 2024 to be his final season in Sydney and to move back to Melbourne in the off-season after Ward's wife, Ruby Keddie, gave birth to the couple's third son in late November.

But those plans changed in the second half of last year after the veteran inside bull moved to the outside and thrived on a wing as the GIANTS surged towards September before the straight sets finals exit, which only solidified Ward's desire to play on for an 18th season in 2025.

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Ruby returned to Melbourne earlier this month with five-year-old Romeo, two-year-old Ralfie and three-month-old Rex to be closer to family after more than a decade in New South Wales.

GIANTS coach Adam Kingsley and general manager Jason McCartney discussed this arrangement before Ward re-signed last September. The club will allow Ward to spend extra time in Melbourne across the season after interstate games – not just games in Victoria – as well as during the week whenever requested.

"If you interviewed me at the start of last year, I would have told you it was definitely going to be my last year. I probably did say that to you because I thought it was definitely going to be my last year," Ward told AFL.com.au this week.

"Then the opportunity came up to play again and Ruby and I had the discussion. We had always planned to move to Melbourne together as a family at the end of last season. Ruby's mum has been dealing with some illness.

"Ruby and I had a good chat about what it would like if I was to play another year. In the end, we decided that Ruby and the kids would move to Melbourne and we would do long distance.

"I'm now living on my own in Sydney and trying to make it work. I'm mapping out now how often I go to Melbourne between games or after games and how much they can come up. It is a different lifestyle to what I'm used to. I've never really lived on my own before."

Western Bulldogs veteran Adam Treloar navigated a similar challenge for the past few years with his daughter living in Brisbane with his fiancée, Australian Diamonds star Kim Ravaillion, while Ravaillion finished her netball career with the Queensland Firebirds, but they have recently reunited in Melbourne.

Ward, who has moved into a two-bedroom apartment in Bondi after the family sold their North Bondi home, said the opportunity to extend his career for one more year wouldn't have been possible without Ruby's commitment to making it work.

"To be honest I don't have an answer for you (how I will handle it). I already miss the kids so much and it's only been a couple of weeks since we've done this properly," Ward said.

"I feel like the mum Ruby is… she is just amazing, doesn't complain and just gets it done, so if it wasn't for her and her support, I think I would really struggle.

"I'm really confident that she can make it work, and we can make it work. I'd struggle if she was really struggling with me not being there. My family will help out a fair bit as well, they live close by. At the moment she is coping really well."

Ward was one of the first players to commit to the GIANTS ahead of the club's entrance into the AFL in 2012. He won the best and fairest in the GIANTS' inaugural season and captained the club for the first eight seasons. He is the club's games-record holder with 255 games in orange taking him to 315 total games after starting his career at the Western Bulldogs.

But Ward is still yet to play in a Grand Final. He has played in five losing preliminary finals, including two in red, white and blue, plus three losing semi-finals with the GIANTS. He watched on in 2019 as the GIANTS were smashed by Richmond in the club's only Grand Final appearance, after his season ended before quarter-time in his first game of the year due to a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament. 

"In my head, I was done. Last year was definitely my last year. I was looking forward to moving back to Melbourne with my family and being around extended family, which we've never had. Everyone says you can't play footy forever, and it is so true, so why not make it last a bit longer if we can?" he explained.

"On the back of the finals exit, I'm at a stage in my career where I want to play an important role for the team and just as important as that is playing in a premiership. When that was taken from me again last year, the decision was can I do one more? Do I believe in myself to go one more and play in a premiership. That was the main reason why I decided to go around again.

"I've been playing for a long time now and haven't achieved the ultimate; I haven't even played in a Grand Final. It is something you dream of as a kid to play in a premiership. To have a long career and having not played in one is something I think about quite a bit, especially losing five prelims and probably another three semis.

"It does eat away at you. I've got mates I played with at the Dogs who played long careers, lost three prelims in a row and it's something they still think about 15 years on. For me, it's not something I want to think about forever, so to achieve the ultimate would end that and would be just a great way to go out."

Last September should have ended differently. But it didn't. They were 28 points up against Sydney and lost the qualifying final. Then, inexplicably, they let slip a 44-point lead at home against Brisbane in the semi-final to exit the finals in straight sets.

The GIANTS then lost plenty of quality depth in October. Isaac Cumming (Adelaide) and Harry Perryman (Collingwood) both exercised their free agency rights, before James Peatling also moved to West Lakes during the trade period. By the deadline, the GIANTS secured box office star Jake Stringer and retained Xavier O'Hallloran and Conor Stone.

The GIANTS waited until they returned for pre-season to review what went wrong in September. After a full summer on the track for almost the entire list – and nearly a handful of former first-round picks hunting early season debuts – Ward is driving the group towards the promised land in what he intends to be his last dance, although many at the club have heard that before.

"They [premiership chances] are as real as ever. Obviously at this time of year, every team wants to play in a premiership and play in finals. We are definitely no different," he said.

"I feel like at the end of last season, going into finals, a lot of people were saying we were premiership favourites and we definitely believe that as well. We had a couple of bad patches in those two games, and we bombed out, none from two from the finals which really hurt, but we still have the belief that we can beat anyone, we just need to be more consistent.

"It's not easy, we need to keep improving, and we are improving, but we feel like we've had a really good pre-season training and education wise. I feel like we're in a really good spot and ready to improve on last year."

Ward was granted December off and didn't report back for training until the group returned in early January. Since then, he has trained on a wing after making a surprise switch to the position halfway through last season.

After kicking two goals from 19 disposals first up against Sydney in round 15, Ward added 24 and two against Adelaide, 30 and two against Carlton and 13 and two against Richmond all in the space of a month. He then kicked two goals from 20 touches against the Swans in the qualifying final.

"That is where I will definitely start and try and nail that position," he said.

"In my head, I back myself to play in the midfield as well, half-forward or anywhere really. I hope 'Kingers' [coach Adam Kingsley] believes that as well. In the coaches' minds, its definitely the wing where they see me. I'm really enjoying that position as well and feel like I can improve on last year and do better this year."

Ward had fallen out of love with the game when Adam Kingsley replaced Leon Cameron at the end of 2022, following a tough year where Mark McVeigh stepped in as caretaker coach and the GIANTS won only six games for the season. That changed from the moment the 2004 Port Adelaide premiership player walked in the door.

"Personally, 'Kingers' has been awesome for me. When he came into the football club, I was at a stage in my career where I didn't know what I was doing. I didn't know where my best position was. I'd almost been moved out of the midfield and didn't know if I was going to play at half-back or half-forward – I wasn't even thinking wing at that time, to be honest.

"The first meeting I had with 'Kingers' and I remember saying something along the lines of I know where I'm at as a player and my age. He pulled me up straight away and said, 'I don't want to hear that again, you are really important to this football club and a really important player in this team'.

"He had a spot for me at that stage as a sixth forward at the start of 2023, then went to midfield and then moved to a wing halfway through last year. With him, he has always driven that belief in me as a player in his team.  I've really enjoyed my football under him; I love the way he goes about it and build belief in all of his players."

Phil Davis was the first player to commit to the GIANTS in 2011, but Ward is the last man standing. Two months after Ward informed the Western Bulldogs of his decision to move to the expansion side, the GIANTS selected Stephen Coniglio at pick No. 2 and Toby Greene nine picks later. They are the only inaugural GIANTS left.

Ward had the opportunity to return to Melbourne and continue his career with North Melbourne in 2025, potentially longer. But his desire to chase the only prize that matters in this game is the reason he is making a significant personal sacrifice this year.