From grassroots to the elite level, footy clubs thrive thanks to the passion and dedication of their members and volunteers - and the GIANTS are no exception.
As the GIANTS celebrate Member Thanks Round this weekend, we’re proud to shine a spotlight on some of our passionate and selfless members - the dedicated volunteers who spend their Wednesday nights in the changerooms at ENGIE Stadium, bringing our game-day banners to life.
All members of the club’s official Cheer Squad, the weekly banner making crew come from all walks of life, but they all share a passion for the GIANTS and the values that the club displays.
Speaking to a range of members across the 90-minute session on Wednesday night, one word continued to come to the forefront: ‘family.’
Tracy Worden of Plumpton in Western Sydney, is a foundation member of the club, a Cheer Squad member, and a regular of the GIANTS’ banner making crew.
“I moved here from South Australia in 1996 as a big footy fan, but I could not support the Swans,” she laughed.
“I had Foxtel back then purely to watch AFL; I loved my footy. Then when they started talking about having an AFL team in Western Sydney, I was like ‘I’m in.’ Plus, I’m only about 15 minutes from the Blacktown ground so it was just perfect.
“I’ve still got my original email from when I registered my interest for Team GWS back when it was still a concept, so my connection to the club goes back that far.”
A consistent presence at banner making for the past four to five years, Tracey values the special community she’s part of.
“It’s something I can do to help the club,” she said.
“Plus, it’s a real family. The same people come every week, and it really is a family thing. We do things outside of it [banner making] together and talk to each other outside of it - it’s great.
“I’ve met a lot of friends through this. I came to this on my own originally and now I’m part of a family and community and that’s a big part of what the GIANTS are.
“The club, the players, the coaches and the staff, they all make us feel like we are a part of something special and there’s no separation between club and fans, it’s all one community and one family.”
It's certainly a family affair for the Brown family from Preston - consisting of mum and dad, Aaron and Kathryn, and their two boys, Ethan and Liam – with the family a staple at GIANTS banner making.
“We’ve been members for three years now, but we’ve been coming to games for a lot longer, probably eight or nine years,” Kathryn said.
“We signed up after going to a ‘Behind the Banner’ night a few years ago and after that we signed up to the Cheer Squad and the whole kit and kaboodle.”
The Browns weren’t an AFL family before the GIANTS entered their lives, but now they’re hooked.
“Ethan did Auskick after school eight or nine years ago and became a GIANTS Recruit from that and so we thought we’d come to a game - and we’ve been coming ever since.”
“Mum was a big Bulldogs fan in the NRL,” Ethan interjected.
“I was NRL growing up but now I can’t watch NRL anymore, it’s too boring,” Kathryn laughed.
The Browns reinforced the inclusivity they feel within the club.
“This is our GIANTS family,” Kathryn said as the crew behind her chipped away at building the banner for Sunday’s game against the Saints.
“It’s just a nice family friendly atmosphere. It’s very welcoming and everyone at the club is amazing and the access we get is amazing.
“Even with the involvement of the junior clubs and having the GIANTS players come out. I know a lot of Victorian clubs don’t do that. It’s nice that we have that connection with the club and the players.”
“I love the exclusivity of it,” Ethan added.
“If I have friends that follow AFL and I tell them that I get to make the banner, and do this and that, then they say, ‘oh that’s not fair.’”
Meanwhile 22-year-old Jack Hamill has been a GIANTS member for over a decade but admits he crossed over from the dark side to fall in love with the club.
“I’ve been a GIANTS member since 2013, but I was originally a Collingwood fan because my dad is a huge Pies fan,” Jack revealed.
“But it was like a natural progression. I was going to a few GIANTS games as they were like my second team, and then in 2014 I think it was, they played Collingwood - and I just felt really sad when Collingwood won the game. I recall thinking ‘oh ok I guess I’m a GIANTS fan now’, because I’d fallen in love with the team.
“I had already been behind the goals for a few GIANTS games and it just naturally happened that I fell in love with the team.”
Jack said being a part of the club’s Cheer Squad and banner making team certainly holds a strong place in his heart.
“I joined the Cheer Squad in around 2015 and since then I’ve been going to all the home games, and I’veloved it. I know some of my best friends now through the Cheer Squad.
“I started banner making in 2023 and I fell in love with it and I’ve been going pretty much every Wednesday night ever since.
“It feels like a second family. Being here on a Wednesday I know I’ll be here talking footy, making the banner, and having a lot of fun – it’s a really tight-knit community.”
Jack also helps raise the banner at every home game and at some away games, and said the moment isn’tlost on him how special it is.
“I remember a few years ago in the prelim against Collingwood - just being out on the MCG with 99,000 people - that atmosphere was surreal. Just being on the field every game and setting the banner up is amazing.
“I took a friend along to Opening Round last year [to help raise the banner] and he was close to tears because he was on ENGIE [Stadium], and I was like, wow, I kind of forget how cool doing this is.”
Lisa Sales from Llandilo– one of the ringleaders of the banner making crew – is another who bleeds orange and charcoal – admittedly largely thanks to an ex-boyfriend.
“My first game was at the SCG in 2015, it was the Swans v the GIANTS,” she recalled.
“I was wearing a Swans cap and my boyfriend at the time was a massive GIANTS fan.
“I remember we met ‘Mummy’s’ [Shane Mumford] mum in the pub before the game, and she was a hilarious woman. She had a lot to say about Shane and then I was curious about this Shane Mumford guy.
“Then we ended up getting a GIANTS membership that week some time. Then we went to a fan day and there was a sign about the Cheer Squad, and you got a cool t-shirt, and we said, ‘yeah sign us up.'”
From there it wasn’t long until Lisa was hooked and soon a key figure of the club’s banner making team – with the proud GIANTS fan now travelling the country to watch and cheer on the side.
“We went to a Canberra game the next year [2016] and I made my first banner there and met a few Canberra people and they showed us how to do the banner back when it was using cloth and that’s where it all started.
“Since 2017-18 I’ve been weekly banner making and now I try and do all the away games – I’ve only missed three this year.
“I started off going to all the away games because I wanted to go to every single [AFL] ground, which I’ve now pretty much done except for Darwin because we don’t play there.
“I’m a big cricket fan too so I like going to places like Bellerive and then Adelaide Oval and the MCG. I just remember when I first went to Adelaide Oval I kissed the ground, and the same with the MCG. Going to all these amazing grounds, I just fell in love with it all.”
Singing from the same hymn sheet as her banner-making sidekicks, Lisa says the family and community aspect of the GIANTS is something special.
“I love everything about what I do. It’s like a footy family I’d call it.
“It’s my time away from everyday life.
“I have fun making the banner. I love my time with the Cheer Squad and everyone who makes the banner. I love the footy obviously. I love watching the boys play and cheering them on.
“And then the staff- everyone is awesome, and everyone you connect with at the GIANTS has a really positive vibe. You make different connections with people from different walks of life.
“Like we all come from different places and live in different places and do different things but we all have this love for the game and for the club.”
Lisa added that the connection between the club and the next generation of footy fans is also something that she cherishes.
“I love the grassroots stuff. I love it when my nieces and nephew talk about how the GIANTS came along to their school and they talk about the players and how much fun they had and how they interacted with them - and then seeing them in GIANTS merch.
“Then you see them and their friends come along to the football. I love that the GIANTS going to the schools, gets them along to the game - that’s incredible. Whatever way gets you here. I love seeing that, it’s really cool.”
Tracey, the Browns, Jack, and Lisa, are just some of the friendly and selfless faces who makes the GIANTS Cheer Squad and banner making team – coming together each week to play a vital role as part of the GIANTS family.
But the GIANTS Cheer Squad isn’t just about waving flags and lifting banners. Every week they come together to create the colour and noise that fills the bay on game day, giving the GIANTS the kind of energy only the Orange Army can deliver. It’s another way the GIANTS community connects, week in and week out.
If you’d like to be part of it, reach out to the GIANTS membership team, they’re always welcoming new hands to help keep the sea of orange growing.
And just like the Cheer Squad, there are plenty of other ways to be part of the GIANTS community. One of them is Fan Chat on Facebook, a space where members share their passion and connect with each other online. As one member, Peter Marsden, recently said:
“Every single member plays a part in building and representing the Orange Army whether we come to 1 home game or 8 or even 11. Just like the players on the field, we all play a role, a role in promoting and fostering what it means to be an Orange Army member... I love the passion too that bellows out from those committed legends responsible for that brilliantly busy sea of orange we are blessed to see every home game in the Cheer Squad bay, right along through to the members’ side. Lovin’ how loud we are especially when it’s time to sing the song! Gettin’ louder every home game.”
As Peter says, everyone plays a part. Whether it’s through the Cheer Squad, Fan Chat, or simply turning up in your orange and making noise, the Orange Army is built by all of us.
Join the GIANTS’ Fan Chat on Facebook here and be part of the conversation.
The GIANTS will continue to celebrate and thank the tremendous support of the Orange Army on Sunday as they look to guarantee their spot in September with a win over the Saints at ENGIE Stadium.
Click here for tickets or here to see what we’re doing to celebrate our members on Sunday.
