GWS Giants deserve a Friday night game in Round 23, writes Jay Clark
GIVE Greater Western Sydney its shot at prime time, and Round 23 is the perfect time to hand the Giants their first Friday night game, writes Jay Clark.
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GIVE Greater Western Sydney its shot at prime time.
When the AFL’s fixture gurus come together in the next few weeks to look at scheduling Round 23, one clash stands out as the marquee match-up — North Melbourne versus the Giants at Etihad Stadium.
What a time to give GWS its first Friday night game with, most likely, its first finals campaign around the corner.
The Giants will deserve the spotlight, let alone North, which remains undefeated over nine rounds.
The AFL will let some water flow under the bridge before confirming the fixture in August, mindful of giving the top teams the longest possible break before finals.
This year is different, with the bye week after Round 23 giving the league more flexibility.
GWS and the AFL have discussed it, with the Giants keen to showcase their growth and potential to a massive national audience.
You can safely assume the Giants will be given some Friday night love in next year’s fixture, too.
For the club’s development, GWS needs some prime-time prominence.
There were fewer than 10,000 people at its win against the Western Bulldogs, but the Sunday 3pm timeslot does not usually draw big crowds, and the rugby league game across the road drew only 3000 more.
Overall, the Giants’ crowd figures are up 17 per cent on last year, which was up 18 per cent on the year before.
That’s steady growth.
A premiership looks a given at some point in the next five seasons. Perhaps even this season, with the Giants $6.50 chances with TAB.
The bigger quandary is when they lift that cup, how much will the footy world care? And will the draft concession debate dilute their achievement?
Regardless of the generous start-up concessions and the academy furore, the Giants are fun to watch and seriously exciting.
Brash and cocky too, if you ask their opponents. They’re a bit in-your-face, these boys in orange.
The Friday night stage in Round 23 would undoubtedly help give the team a taste, too, of what is to come in the finals series, with Leon Cameron’s team currently tracking for a top-four berth.
The Giants face a testing month, with games against Adelaide (Adelaide Oval), Geelong (Simonds Stadium) and Sydney (Spotless Stadium) set to enhance or diminish their top-four credentials.
The GWS players have been free in September in their first four AFL seasons, but they better delay holiday plans this year.
Originally published as GWS Giants deserve a Friday night game in Round 23, writes Jay Clark
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