Dear GIANTS members,
This has been an unprecedented week for our club and the entire competition as the impact of Coronavirus has been felt by everyone right across Australia.
As an important part of the GIANTS family, I want to take this opportunity to provide you with an update on the state of play for our club.
The GIANTS, like every club across the AFL industry, have had to make the difficult decision to stand down the majority of our highly valued workforce in order to successfully navigate this challenging period.
While the club and the League are dealing with this unprecedented stoppage, the GIANTS have moved to a minimal operating staff until the AFL competition returns. During this period, our training and administration base at Sydney Olympic Park is closed.
As AFL Chief Executive Gillon McLachlan said recently, this is the most serious threat to our game in 100 years.
While some media have elected to speculate on the future of our club at this time - suggesting it may be in jeopardy - I want to ensure you that this is not the case.
There is tremendous collaboration right across our game at the moment with all 18 clubs working together to ensure every single club comes out the other side of this crisis.
In less than 10 years, we have built a terrific club that has wonderful corporate support and a powerful and wide reaching network that is committed to seeing our club grow into one of the most powerful elite sporting organisations in the country. And we of course have the most devoted and supportive members and fans in sport.
I understand that many of our members are anxious about their membership rights.
The first priority for the GIANTS, the AFL and the other 17 clubs is the health and welfare of our members and supporters.
The AFL is committed to playing the remaining 144 games of the 2020 season and while the season is on hold until the end of May, we will continue to review the situation.
We are exploring a range of options for our members and we will communicate further when the position becomes clearer.
The support you give our club as a member is invaluable and we hope you are in a position to get through this unprecedented situation with us as I’m confident we can come out the out other side stronger together.
At a time when many in the community are suffering, we remain committed to delivering exceptional value and service to our members.
While the games may been put on hold, our team is working hard to ensure you stay connected to the GIANTS through this tough time.
In the coming weeks, you will see a range of initiatives rolled out that will bring you closer to our players and key people than ever before.
We want our members to still be able to pick up the phone and talk footy with our staff whenever they want and we are putting things in place to ensure this is the case.
In the meantime, if any of our members are going through a particularly tough period at the moment, please feel free to email the club at membership@gwsgiants.com.au and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
The GIANTS thank you for your ongoing support during this period. We hope you and your families remain safe and healthy.
David Matthews
GIANTS CEO
