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Greater Western Sydney has qualified for their first ever AFL grand final with an exhilarating four-point win over the Black Booers in a preliminary final at the MCG.
GWS captain Phil Davis was running off nothing for most of the match, but the Giants still managed to outpressure the Magpies until the final buzzer. Despite missing four of their top players going into the game.
As The Little Expansion Team That Could continues to huff and puff for another week towards the Australian Football zenith, they now look towards a gruelling grand final against Richmond.
But before they once again play another match in Melbourne for the Melbourne-centric footballing code’s ‘Big Dance’ which takes place at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, they must return home, to their heartland. Greater Western Sydney.
Which according to the Australian Bureau Of Statistics, is a metropolitan region that encompasses roughly 5,800 square kilometres
With an estimated residential population of 2,288,554, it’s also home to about 9% of Australia’s population and 44% of Sydney’s population.
It’s also a great place for AFL places to get in a bit of rest and recuperation outside of Victoria because majority of the region either supports the A-League’s Western Sydney Wanderers or one of the seven NRL franchises west of Redfern.
This makes it the ideal hometown for Aussie Rules players who don’t like the limelight outside of away games.
However, with an AFL flag now looking like a very real possibility, the GWS Giants players are now forced to confront the fact that a few people might recognise them in the streets of Western Sydney this time next week.
It’s for this reason that they are cherishing their final days of anonymity in Parramatta, before that next flight down south.
“We just want the boys to relax before the grand final” said coach Leon Cameron.
“Which is why we’ve told them to not stray too far outside of Western Sydney. There’s a big chance someone might recognise them if they go down to Bondi”
“I’ve told them they should take in this next week of being just another face in the crowd, because if they win this thing, there’s gonna be a lot more bright orange hanging off the racks inside Peter Wynn’s Score”
