Mark Bickley: Hard yards could bring giant reward for Greater Western Sydney’s fab five OGs
To be around at the birth of a club is special in itself, but to be able to stick around long enough to be there when it achieves the ultimate success is an even greater honour, writes Mark Bickley, based on some first-hand, life-changing experience.
Mark Bickley
Don't miss out on the headlines from Mark Bickley. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Round 1 2012, Greater Western Sydney Giants take on the Sydney Swans. An inauspicious start to the AFL’s newest club, not surprisingly suffering a large loss to its more mature rival. GWS had 17 players make their AFL debut that day, 14 were teenagers.
Five of those players will be present on Saturday afternoon in the Giants historic first grant final appearance.
Phil Davis, Jeremy Cameron, Toby Greene, Adam Kennedy and Adam Tomlinson. If Stephen Coniglio were to win his battle to take his place in the side, make that six.
It has been a bumpy ride to get to this point — starting with the location. Of all the expansion teams the cultural melting pot of Western Sydney was the least attractive. Gold Coast appears much more desirable.
Replay the 2019 Toyota AFL Grand Final in full on KAYO SPORTS. Get your 14-day free trial and start streaming instantly >
Combine that with the bold plan to resist recruiting established players, only the premium young talent from around the country, and supplement that with ageing stars including Chad Cornes, Luke Power, Anthony McDonald and Dean Brogan.
It was bold because it meant in the early years GWS were largely uncompetitive and took some horrible beatings, including the Hawks’ 162-point defeat in round 15, 2012.
History shows they would win just three of their first 44 matches.
While this would come at a cost, with some players choosing to leave the club and head home. The boys who stayed and endured would not only mature but turn into resilient men who, even with the disappointment of finals losses in recent years and what seems like a never-ending merry-go-round of injuries, have stayed the course. They have become key members of a team that seems to have undergone a transformation during the major round.
The rise in intensity of finals football has been matched with a harder-edged Giants outfit. The “never surrender” motto lived up to on the field, particularly in its last two outings, where, away from home and without important personnel, they would overcome the odds to win through to the grand final.
Although only two players from the Adelaide Football Club’s first game against Hawthorn in 1991 would go on to become members of the 1997 premiership team (Rod Jameson and Nigel Smart), four others were present in the Crows’ inaugural squad — David Pittman, Ben Hart Shaun Rehn and myself.
To be around at the birth of a club is special in itself, but to be able to stick around long enough to be there when it achieves the ultimate success is an even greater honour.
I remember Malcolm Blight recounting the joy of being a part of North Melbourne’s first ever flag success in 1975. For the Kangaroos, it was a moment of joy that was 50 years in the making.
“No matter how many flags North win from here, none will ever be the first!” Blight said.
It was a feat he would repeat as coach of the Crows. And he was right, there is definitely something special about the first.
Young clubs — like Adelaide was, and GWS is — are desperate to create history and build traditions. The best way to do that, of course, is to have success. It validates the years of hard work, it silences the critics who said it couldn’t be done and, importantly, builds belief for everyone at the club, including generations to come.
In a marketplace like Western Sydney where competition among the rugby and football codes is fierce, the Giants have an opportunity with the spotlight this week to continue to win the hearts and minds of a new generation of players and members.
With GWS breaking through the 30,000 member barrier for the first time this year and with the impact of a grand final appearance, the Giants may also move considerably up the membership ladder.
Already ahead of the Lions, they now have teams like North Melbourne, St Kilda and the Bulldogs clearly in their sights.
Richmond will start red-hot favourite on Saturday to win the club’s 12th premiership, and second in three years. While it would be well deserved, I’ll be hoping the new kids on the block can continue their barnstorming run and create a new chapter in our national game.
And to Phil Davis, who is so impressive as a player and in his role as co-captain, if the Giants are successful come 5pm on Saturday and he gets the opportunity to lift the premiership cup aloft, I can assure him his life will never be the same again.