GWS is riding the wave of Finals attention, working hard to engage with the community ahead of their Finals campaign getting underway on Saturday.
GIANTS Head of Consumer Sales Ari Mansfield said the Finals open up a new opportunity for fans to get close to the club.
“I think one of the best things about making Finals is that the season is alive for a bit longer but it’s also alive in the warmer weather so we’ve got a couple of open training sessions this week – we had over 300 people here on Tuesday,” he said.
“A fair majority of that was from some of the local schools around here. It’s just great for them to be able to come and watch the players train and grab a selfie or get an autograph.”
GIANTS HQ is open to the public all year round though there’s a very different feeling this week.
“People obviously can’t get here during the day so it’s usually quite quiet,” Mansfield said.
“During Finals time people take that time off work or schools put on buses to get kids down here so it’s fantastic. It really comes alive and you can feel the energy in the place.”
The GIANTS have worked hard to push community connection in a rugby league city and Finals appearances help grab more attention for the club, which is chasing its first flag.
“We love the western Sydney community and it’s great to see them getting on board and loving what we’re doing,” Mansfield said.
There will be plenty of activity pre-game to engage the community ahead of Saturday’s clash with the Hawks, which gets underway at 3.15pm.
Troy Dodds is Parra News' Managing Editor and Breaking News Reporter. He has more than 20 years experience as a journalist, working with some of Australia’s leading media organisations. In 2023, he was named Editor of the Year at the Mumbrella Publish Awards.