Brogan to continue on-field role for GWS March 7, 2013 - 10:07AM Greater Western Sydney ruckman Jonathan Giles expects veteran teammate and ruck coach Dean Brogan will continue to play an active on-field role in his 13th AFL season. Brogan was expected to announce his playing retirement for a second time after the Giants' maiden AFL season ended last year. Delisted as the club considered a tilt for Kurt Tippett, 34-year-old Brogan was contracted again in the pre-season draft. The 2004 Port Adelaide premiership player, who was first told his time was up in 2011 by the Power, is preparing to play his first pre-season game of the year on Friday night when GWS host Essendon in Canberra. "Broges has had a good pre-season and his body is going alright," Giles said of Brogan, who won a National Basketball League championship with Adelaide prior to trying his hand at AFL. Brogan and Andrew Phillips, who was elevated off the rookie list after Setanta O'hAilpin's knee injury, both played nine games last year and gave Giles much-needed ruck support. Giles suggested the assistant coach's 2013 campaign would be comparable. I think it'll be similar to last year in terms of that. We'll see how we go this season in terms of injury and form," said Giles, who will sit out the Manuka Oval clash with the Bombers. But he's been helping me out a lot off the field ... going through vision and looking at opposition teams and ruckmen - how they are rucking and where I can improve my game. He's been great. We've got another couple of young rucks in Andrew Phillips and Tom Downie who are coming though as well, so Broges will be helping all of us develop as quickly as we can. Giles said Brogan's mentoring throughout summer had been immensely valuable as he sought to improve on an impressive maiden AFL season. I do a lot of my rucking against Broges (at training) and we go full on against each other. And he can give me that instant feedback - as a player and as a coach - on the track. Then you've got that off-field role, he looks at my vision and gives me heaps of pointers to make me a better player.