THE WORST parts for Brent Daniels were the mornings. Getting out of bed was agony.

"I was getting out of bed like an old man," Daniels told AFL.com.au this week.

"I was trying to roll out to the side. Whenever I contracted my abs, I was in pain. I couldn't do any sit-ups or anything like that. I couldn't kick a ball and I couldn't do any groin squeezes. I couldn't do anything."

Last year, Daniels was kicking a soccer ball around with his Greater Western Sydney teammates when he noticed a burning sensation shoot up through his stomach. It was a feeling that was as unusual as it was painful.

"I just thought, 'oh … that didn't feel right'," Daniels said.

Confused, he visited the medical team at the Giants to explain his symptoms. After poking, prodding, scanning and testing, they were left as in the dark as he was. No one could seem to work out what had happened or why.

That day was the start of a months-long ordeal for Daniels that cost him almost the entirety of his 2025 season. He would play just two games in the next 371 days, one as a substitute and another where he was forced out early, with the club eventually conducting a global search to determine the exact cause of his issue.

For the Giants' medical staff, Daniels was presenting with a muscular injury. Indeed, it had turned out he was dealing with a lower abdominal wall strain. However, unbeknownst to most at the club, it had led to nerve damage that would flow to his groin, pelvis and hip, making it difficult for anyone to diagnose the root of the problem.

"Obviously, I had a few weeks out and it wasn't getting any better," Daniels said. "I thought I could try and play with the pain and train with the pain. I thought I could do it. But then I got back to play against Brisbane and it went again.

"The scans showed up that I tore my adductor, but the pain I had wasn't in my adductor. It was the exact same pain that I'd had before, so it didn't add up. It was pretty confusing. No one really knew what was going on, it wasn't clear.

"They didn't know what was wrong with me, either. You do a hammy and you get told straightaway. I was sore and they couldn't work out what was wrong with me. That was the most frustrating part of it."

Daniels was treated as though he was dealing with an abdomen injury. He would recover, resume kicking drills and increase his running loads, just like one would be expected to when dealing with such an issue. But then he would break down again. And no one could work out why.

Given the pain was flowing through so many parts of his body, the Giants sought medical advice overseas and ultimately elected for a major surgery towards the end of last year. It was then, finally, that the strain in the lower part of his abdomen was repaired and Daniels was finally on the road to recovery.

"The physios were doing everything they could to work out what was going on, but at the end of the day they didn't have an answer for me," Daniels said. "The surgeon didn't really even tell me what was wrong with me. He just said he'd fixed up a few things and thought he'd resolved it.

"It has been difficult. I think it's underrated how big of a mental drain it is, being in and out of the team through injury. You're trying to play your best, but in the back of your mind you're always thinking about your injuries and every little moment of a game when you're in a vulnerable position.

"I had a good patch there when 'Kingers' [coach Adam Kingsley] first got to the club, where I was pretty much injury-free. That was good, then in 2024 I probably had the best year of my career on the back of that and being out there all the time. It's massive in terms of having that continuity in your body and being able to train and play consistently."

While a hamstring strain kept Daniels out for the first four matches of this season, he is now mostly over the mystery injury that kept him sidelined for basically an entire campaign in 2025. For the Giants, that's come as a significant and much-needed boost as Kingsley's side looks to resurrect its finals chances.

Having started his season playing predominantly in his familiar role as one of the League's best pressure forwards, Daniels has since transitioned to a newfound position as a full-time midfielder in the past three weeks. It's brought immediate dividends.

The past three weeks have brought with it Daniels' three highest games for centre bounce involvements, while last Sunday's defeat to St Kilda saw him stack the stats box with 31 disposals, 16 contested possessions, 10 clearances, six tackles, eight score involvements and three goal assists.

His nimbleness and class at stoppage has provided Kingsley with a valuable point of difference alongside Clayton Oliver and Finn Callaghan in the midfield, while it has also enabled Lachie Ash to return to half-back where the Giants have desperately needed his line-breaking run.

"To be honest, it's something that comes pretty naturally to me," Daniels said.

"Throughout my juniors, I played a lot of midfield stuff. It's not an area that I've trained a whole lot and I didn't do any of the pre-season as a midfielder, but it's something that comes naturally.

"As a team, I think I add something a little bit different for us in there. Obviously, we've got Finn and 'Clarry' who are having unreal years. But it's just something a little bit different that we can add.

"We tried 'Ashy' in there a little bit earlier to try and add something different. But it took away from our back-half stuff too much. After that, we've got Phoenix [Gothard] going really well in the forward line and Toby [Greene] – who was playing a bit midfield – has gone forward more. It was more that we had some smalls going well ahead of the ball already."

Across the past three weeks, Daniels been the best pressure player in the entire competition. He's also led all Giants players for centre bounce clearances and tackles, while he's been top two at the club for centre bounce first possessions, contested possessions, loose ball gets, clearances, score involvements and inside-50s.

His kicking has also been incredibly valuable. According to Champion Data, since Daniels returned in round five, he's ranked No.1 in the entire AFL for retention of kicks inside-50 (67.6 per cent) and scores from kicks inside-50 (52.9 per cent), and is currently No.2 for goals from kicks inside-50 (32.4 per cent).

That's led to Daniels remarkably being the 14th-highest rated player in the entire competition since his return. Not bad for someone coming off the back of two games in a whole year, and even better when you consider he's doing it playing an extended period in a completely new role through the midfield.

"I think he's both [a forward and a midfielder]," Kingsley said after Sunday's game.

"He's pretty bloody good in both positions. I thought he was outstanding tonight. I thought his ability to hunt, his fast feet around the stoppages, it's part of the reason why our stoppage work was quite effective. He can play forward, but we need him in the midfield right at this moment.

"We missed him heavily last season, there's no question about that. Everyone would acknowledge that. It's nice to have him back and hopefully we've got him back for good."

Perhaps the most impressive part of Daniels' campaign to date, though, is that he's still recovering from the aftermath of last year. Having recognised it will take some time before he feels 'normal' again, he's making do for now. And he's doing so brilliantly amid arguably the best patch of form in his career to date.

"I wouldn't say it's ever probably going to be 100 per cent," Daniels said.

"I still feel like I'm building. I obviously had a long time out last season, but I'm getting a lot more confidence back in my body. For me, that's the biggest thing for me to play how I want to play.

"It was a pretty big surgery in that area, so it's taken some time for the scar tissue to break down. But I'm feeling like the player I was and I'm moving like how I want to move again. That's the main thing."