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I was introduced to Australian Rules football as an eight-yeard-old when my uncle took me to a Sydney-Collingwood game at the SCG in 1999 – the day Tony Lockett broke the goal-kicking record held by Gordon Coventry.
Before that day, my only sporting interest was in cricket when Australia were playing. After this day, I was ‘converted’ to Australian Rules, but also developed a passing interest in league, union and soccer.
Despite living in the Blue Mountains, I did not follow Sydney. My mantra was that the Sydney Swans were a bunch of rich snobs from Mosman – not entirely incorrect, but certainly naive and stereotypical. I kept the Footy Record I bought that day and scoured through all the teams, ending up with a soft spot for Fremantle.
It wasn’t a particularly good choice for a team. Fremantle averaged just five wins per season between 1999 and 2002, but I stuck with them in the absence of any local team to follow. My support for them was limited to radio as we didn’t have Foxtel, and Fremantle were rarely broadcast on free-to-air television in New South Wales.
Fast forward to 2008 when the AFL announced the addition of a team into Western Sydney. I was ecstatic. I stuck with Fremantle until 2012 when GWS entered the competition – a rather ironic switch given that was the year Fremantle became a powerhouse.
Despite living in Canberra since 2009, I went to a couple of games in Sydney as well as the ones in Canberra.
I was there in that warm day in May when GWS kicked five goals to nothing in the final quarter to down Gold Coast. I was there that day in the rain when we finished oh so close to upsetting Richmond. And despite being stuck in a Professional Development session for work in August, I watched the game on my phone when we scored that big upset win over Port Adelaide.
Into season 2013 and I continued to go to a few games. I was there when St Kilda embarrassed us at Manuka, and I watched every game on TV/online religiously. Our last quarter fade outs became infamous, but I am pleased to say I was at Skoda Stadium the day we broke our duck against Melbourne.
From the start, there have been many decisions by the club that I have thought are strokes of genius. There are others which I have scratched my head at and wondered what the reasons are behind such a decision.
The Giants mascot was a big talking point. I was hoping we could be known as the Western Dingos (and in the process the Western Bulldogs change back to Footscray), while the Nomads and Jets may also have worked better. The Giants moniker gave the appearance of trying too hard.
On the other hand, perhaps it was the best option to get kids excited about such a team. But to this day, I still hate my team being called the ‘Giants’, if for no other reason than the ridiculous puns every journalist uses to dissect our games – from “A Giant leap forward” to “A Giant belting”.
I was hoping our main colour would be green as no other team has green on their uniform, but I will happily concede that the orange has grown on me. The same goes for the club song, a fantastic upbeat song which will evoke pride and passion in our club once it becomes better known.
But there are more negatives.
Despite now living in Canberra, I believe the club should never have sold home games there. Part of the reason for doing this was that our home ground at the Showgrounds is unavailable each year during Easter because of the Easter Show.
This is also related to another gripe I have in that Western Sydney is an area that goes from Ashfield to Emu Plains and from Castle Hill to Camden. It is a huge area. And although the Showgrounds (currently known as Spotless Stadium) are in Western Sydney, it does isolate a lot of people.
Hosting three games a year (plus a NAB Challenge match) over three hours away in Canberra is a poor marketing decision.
Yes, it does boost income for the club courtesy of the spend-happy ACT Government, but how can people in Western Sydney support a team that plays some home games in Canberra and also has Canberra written across the back of its guernsey?
The solution would have been simple – host three low-drawing matches per year at the training facility built at Blacktown International Sportspark, which is close to the geographical centre of Western Sydney. It is unlikely that our home games against Port Adelaide, Fremantle, Western Bulldogs or Brisbane will ever draw a large crowd, so hosting these games out at Blacktown would be a great way to engage the locals.
Such a move would cost money (transport to the Blacktown stadium is terrible and there is only one grandstand), but ultimately it would provide a much better way to attract residents in Western Sydney to AFL football than three games a year in Canberra would.
At times, our recruitment decisions were just as bad. Although Tom Scully, Callan Ward, Chad Cornes and Dean Brogan were all handy pick-ups, we had virtually no recruits between the ages of 24 and 30. Our forward line was strong and our midfield was decent but our backline had no support for Phil Davis and Tim Mohr.
The Folau gamble was intriguing but ultimately failed, and Kevin Sheedy failed to properly understand the demographic of Western Sydney.
Despite our recruitment issues, I now believe we’ve got the balance we need for a successful team. Shane Mumford and Josh Hunt are going to be invaluable this year. And with our first win over the Swans last weekend and our next three games against St Kilda, Melbourne and the Dogs, there is a real chance we could be 4-0 to start the 2014 season.
If we get there, the sky is the limit.
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