Beaussie wrote: Sun May 10, 2026 12:58 pmGood to see the AFL come out and commit fully to Western Sydney. Interestingly, the AFL has final say with any potential name change. Games in Canberra with no mention of Western Sydney on the club kit surely goes to the point that the connection with new fans in Western Sydney has not been ‘good enough’
Snippets below from the new AFL Chairman in the Sydney Morning Herald article today:
https://www.smh.com.au/sport/AFL/new-or ... 5zvao.html
Issue: The AFL was “150 per cent committed” to GWS remaining in Sydney, but the connection to new fans in western Sydney had not been good enough.
“I think the footy program has been good. I think the corporate and commercial piece has been very good. I think the consumer engagement has not been great, and I’ve just been completely frank. So we’ve got work to do. And let me be unequivocal ... we’re 100, we’re 150 per cent committed to the Giants in Sydney.”
Drummond said he had not seen a proposal yet on the nature of any name change to the Giants, whose chairman Tim Reed floated a potential name change. He said the league would want to see evidence and data on a new name. “Show us the data, show us the facts, and we’ll then make a call.”
Issue: The lack of participation in the game from some multicultural communities, the Indian and Chinese diasporas in particular, was a big issue.
Drummond called western Sydney “the canary in the coal mine” for the AFL because one in two people there were born overseas. “One in three people in this country were not born here, and we do not connect with them,” he said. “50 per cent of Australia is going to be in that ‘not born in Australia [category]’ in 20 years’ time. And so our game will be under downward pressure if we don’t [engage].”
I agree that the the connection to ( potential ) new fans has not been good enough.
Posters on this forum have known and discussed this for years.
Why has this issue taken so long to receive attention from administrators.
To expand into one of the toughest sporting markets with one of the worst names is a recipe for disaster.
( Johnny Cash a boy named Sue. )
It shows just how out of touch the Andrew Dimetriou administration was.
As for the name change I don't mind the GWS name bit, it's the indifferent Giant name that is the problem, nobody can embrace such an irrelevant, ugly, meaningless moniker .
GWS needs to completely reinvent themselves or move on.
The Giant name is dead in the water and has been from the start.


