Westmead Children’s Hospital was a sea of smiles on Wednesday when GIANTS players paid a visit to patients and families.

The visit formed part of the club’s Gentle GIANTS program run with law firm Slater & Gordon which sees players attend events at schools, hospitals, Australian football clubs and community groups across Western Sydney.

Veteran GIANTS defender Heath Shaw said visiting the hospital was a humbling experience for the players. 

“It’s always nice to come out to places like this and try to put a smile on the faces of the kids,” he said. 

“Even if some of the kids don’t know much about Aussie Rules we can help cheer them up and also spread the word of the club.

“I think it’s a good experience for young players to see that not everything is rosy in the world and there’s young people out there who are living in tough circumstances.”

GWS’ visit coincided with the children’s hospital’s NAIDOC Week celebration. There was a flag raising and welcome to country and players helped to paint boomerangs with children. 

Gilly Paxton, director of community relations and marketing at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead thanked GWS players for attending and said the NAIDOC celebration was a success.

“All of our patients, particularly those who identify as Indigenous, really look forward to our NAIDOC celebrations, which always include storytelling, dancing, music and art,” she said.

“The GWS boys were so amazing with the kids.

“The boys also visited a few lucky patients in the wards, it really does light up their day, there were some big smiles today.”

Kasturi Wren, a lawyer with Slater & Gordon, said the law firm was proud to stand alongside the Giants at the NAIDOC celebration.

“We have been involved with the club since 2014 and they have been doing so well in the community,” she said.

“With such a large Indigenous population in western Sydney, days like today celebrating NAIDOC Day is especially important. As one of the biggest law firms in western Sydney we try to help when and where we can.”

Shaw said the club was looking to get back in the winners circle in Brisbane on Sunday after losing to his old side Collingwood last weekend.

“It was very disappointing on the weekend because we had to wait two weeks for the game coming off the bye but we didn’t come close (to Collingwood),” Shaw said.

“We really want to get back on the horse against the Lions and get to that 13 wins mark because that means we will play finals football.”

This article first appeared in the Parramatta Sun