Emerging young defender Connor Idun has put pen to paper on a two-year contract extension in his first season at the club.

Announced when he joined his co-captain Phil Davis on a special edition of The Footy Phil podcast, the 18-year-old said he was a bit flustered when coach Leon Cameron asked him to tell his teammates in a meeting but is really excited to secure his future as a GIANT.

“Exciting news for me, I’ve signed a two-year contract extension,” Idun said. 

“It’s good news and I’m really happy about it. It’s been pretty awesome for me. 

“I lived in Sydney when I was growing up so I was a bit familiar with it but obviously Geelong’s pretty quiet so moving here was a bit of a change. 

“Already it’s feeling like home. I’ve settled really well into the club and for me it was a no-brainer to re-sign and stay here for hopefully a long career.”

Idun was drafted at pick 61 in last year’s NAB AFL Draft with the GIANTS using the newly-introduced trading of future picks to get back into the draft and secure the exciting tall. 

Idun has played every NEAFL game this season as a key defender before moving forward in Sunday’s loss to the Lions.

“Connor is an exciting young player for us and one we rated highly at last year’s draft,” GIANTS List Manager Jason McCartney said.

“He’s approached his first season with diligence and put in plenty of hard work which is showing in his footy.

“He is rarely beaten one-on-one and the way he’s developing, AFL footy is certainly on the horizon for him.”

Born in London to an Australian mother and an African father, Idun was raised in Australia and played his junior football in Geelong before representing Vic Country in the NAB Under-18 National Championships. 

With an additional two years on his original draftee contract, the extension keeps Idun in orange and charcoal until the end of the 2022 season.

Idun’s signing continues a raft of key contract extensions the GIANTS have secured this year including Josh Kelly, Jacob Hopper, Nick Haynes, Adam Kennedy, Harry Himmelberg, Brent Daniels and Matt de Boer.