UWS GIANTS coach Brett Hand enters this NEAFL season with two things in mind – to continue to develop a winning culture and to prepare players for the rigours of AFL football.

The UWS GIANTS excelled in 2014, securing the minor premiership before falling one step short of making their inaugural NEAFL Grand Final.

Expectations are high again this year on the back of another tough pre-season and strong recruitment of both experienced players and talented young draftees.

Hand is confident his side will continue to improve which will result in increased competition for spots in the senior side.

“The goal is to continue to produce players that can play AFL football when their time comes,” Hand said.

“We want to give every player the opportunity to put their best foot forward and - as a team - concentrate on executing our game plan to its full extent.

“We’ve had a couple of really good trial games and training has gone to another level so hopefully it will be a big season for us."

The UWS GIANTS will be buoyed this season by the addition of draftees Jarrod Pickett, Paul Ahern, Caleb Marchbank and Pat McKenna along with PM CAPITAL GIANTS Academy graduates Jack Steele and Jeremy Finlayson.

Hand said the club's new additions have responded extremely well to their first pre-season at the elite level.

“The six draftees have been fantastic in the way they have approached their training and recovery thus far,” Hand said.

“As a coaching group we’re really happy with their progress and we look forward to all of them playing some good football throughout the year.

“Having experienced players like Ryan Griffen and Joel Patfull join the club will also have a big impact on our younger guys. We expect the draftees to learn a great deal this season."

The UWS GIANTS will compete in a beefed up NEAFL competition in 2015 with a reduced number of teams expected to boost the standard.

The season will feature nine home games for the GIANTS at Spotless Stadium, Blacktown International Sportspark and Robertson Oval in Wagga Wagga. This is in addition to away games in Sydney, Canberra, Darwin, Brisbane and the Gold Coast, as well as three byes.
 
For the first time in NEAFL history, all 11 teams will play each other at least once making it a truly unified competition for the first time since its inception as a two-conference competition in 2011.

The UWS GIANTS' first match of the season will take place against Gold Coast reserves at Blacktown International Sportspark this Saturday.