Josaia Delana hopes to inspire more western Sydney kids to choose AFL over other sports

Josaia Delana has defied the odds — and pressure from his friends — to become an AFL player. Now, he’s hoping to inspire other western Sydney kids to do the same.

It’s no secret that after 13 years of the GWS Giants taking up residency in Western Sydney, Aussie rules is still trying to cut through in the market.

But the story of the club’s newest category B rookie, Josaia Delana, is the perfect example of why the sport’s perseverance in the region will eventually pay off.

Delana typifies the multicultural crossroads that is Western Sydney.

Of Fijian descent, the teenager spent his childhood growing up in Blacktown playing any sport he could get a taste of and loved nothing more than the outdoors.

Yet it was a chance encounter at school that opened his eyes to the AFL and now years later, he is set to realise his dream of being a professional athlete.

“The AFL was a very foreign sport,” Delana said.

“Still to this day, my dad hasn’t actually watched an AFL game.

“It was always rugby league and soccer for me, and then a bit of OzTag on the side. And then in primary school, AFL NSW/ACT had Auskick come in for an after-school program with some of the Giants people there and I absolutely loved it.

“We then went over to the Kellyville Magpies as well as the school system for Sydney West, but that’s how it started. And then at 16, I joined the Giants Academy and started to take AFL seriously. I had to stop playing league and union and soccer to a bit of my disgust, but it was the right thing to do to make it a real dream.”

Josaia Delana played four games for the Allies in the under-18 National Championships. Picture: Supplied

It wasn’t just the learning a new sport that Delana had to deal with. Understandably he faced pressure from friends who were playing other sports and didn’t get why he was shifting to Aussie rules.

The challenge for the AFL to win the hearts and minds is as present as it has ever been. But in Delana’s lived experience, particularly as someone who went on to captain the Giants Academy side, he can see the progress the club is making in the area.

Western Sydney's Josaia Delana was amongst a host of GIANTS Academy products invited to train alongside the AFL playing group last week 👏

Details 📲 https://t.co/v3j8xVZ3ucpic.twitter.com/JJzrlEGcQB

— GWS GIANTS (@GWSGIANTS) January 23, 2024

“A lot of my mates early on gave me a bit of crap for it,” he said.

“They’d make fun of me handballing the ball instead of passing it and they’d say, ‘Pass the footy properly, mate’.

“They just never really understood the game and took an interest to it. But the mates that I’ve made through AFL are great.

“And if anything now, my brothers and sisters, they’re all playing Aussie rules now, as are a lot of their friends. I think once I started, the following generations have.”

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=7670878343040577

Delana’s determination to stick with the sport he loved has paid off. His impressive agility and physicality has already seen him play nine VFL matches for the Giants. While his background playing other sports has also equipped him with a mean side step – “I don’t know about that, if it is true it definitely comes from rugby league and playing touch football,” he said.

But now he wants to take the flair he plays with and replicate it on the biggest stage. His two biggest footy influences are players like Chad Warner and Izak Rankine who break the game open with their run and dare.

And although he knows there’s plenty of hard work ahead, he hopes his success of finding an AFL career out of Blacktown can inspire other kids in the region to want to pick up a Sherrin.

Delana was surprised by new teammates Leek Aleer and Callum Brown after he was drafted to the club as a category B rookie. Picture: Ryan Jones/GWS GIANTS

“To get the opportunity to play VFL and to know that that’s going to be my future and hopefully for the next couple of years is just really special,” Delana said.

“Thorough playing in the pathways of the Academy, I fell in love with playing for the Giants. I love playing for the jumper, the brand, and the people around the club.

“Most definitely (the talent is coming in Western Sydney). It suits a lot of people with that athletic build. And I can see it now watching my brothers and sisters play, the culture is building as well.

“And I hope that later on when I am playing AFL and I’m a bit more of a role model that I am able to inspire other kids to take this journey. Even if it’s foreign or not seen as equal to rugby league, I’m really looking forward to seeing what the future holds for AFL and Western Sydney.”