High-flying athletic defender Leek Aleer will make his AFL debut in Sydney Derby XXIV on Saturday at the SCG.

Born in Kenya to Sudanese parents, Aleer’s story is one of patience - he wasn’t drafted until he was 20 - and gratitude, to his family who have been there every step of his journey.

As the GIANTS team gathered in the auditorium on Thursday morning for their regular meeting before training, little did Aleer know that waiting outside the door was mum, Tabitha, and his five younger sisters - Agot, Athok, Lueth, Yar and Ajah.

At the end of the meeting, coach Mark McVeigh introduced the surprise guests.

“Everyone has a story, in the room, about how they arrived at the GIANTS,” he said.

“I was thinking about trying to do this story justice, but I actually can’t. I don’t think I can tell it as good as some guests I’m going to bring in.”

In walked Aleer’s family to tell him he would be playing his first AFL game.

What followed was an exemplar of the type of person Aleer is. He addressed the group with humility and pride, speaking of his gratitude to his family, and his love for the club he only joined eight months ago.

“I’m about to get emotional,” he told the group.

"It’s been a long journey. I’ve been extremely privileged to have some amazing people in my life who have got me through a lot of things.

“My mum, Tabitha, has been an absolute rock, an absolute gem, and someone I’m extremely appreciative of. 

“I came over here to Australia as a young boy, five years old … her endeavour and her willingness to sacrifice her own life and her own expectation of what she wanted to achieve for the betterment of her kids is something that I will forever cherish and forever appreciate her for.

“Playing AFL footy has been something on my mind and something I’ve dreamt of since I was a little boy.

“I'm extremely privileged and completely honoured to represent this guernsey. The GIANTS are a fierce football club and a club I feared when I was in Adelaide. 

“As a young player, there’s nothing more great than playing your first game and being able to run out there with you boys and some of the names I used to watch on TV … now I’m going to be able to play with them.”

Aleer arrived in Australia from war-torn South Sudan with his mum and eldest sister Agot at the age of five to join his extended family in Adelaide.

He was captured by the game of Aussie Rules and was always seen with a footy in his hands.

The now 20-year-old came through the grades at Central Districts from under-16s, under-18s and reserves. He only made his senior football debut in May, 2021 and emerged as a top draft prospect late in the year.

Aleer has dealt with serious injury - just weeks into his draft year in 2019 his leg was caught in a tackle which left him with a dislocated ankle and a broken fibula.

He’s also had to learn to be a defender. Up until last year he had only ever played forward and ruck. Coming into pre-season, when he thought his dreams of being drafted may have been dashed, he moved back and played 11 games there for the season.

On draft night, he was expected to maybe be taken in the second round. But the GIANTS had already taken star midfielder Finn Callaghan with pick three and they were looking for a key defender with their second pick.

“He’s obviously got that enormous vertical leap. But we feel like his intercept game is something that we can really add to our backline,” GIANTS National Recruiting Manager Adrian Caruso said at the time.

“We feel like we’ve got some really good one-on-one defenders, but his ability to roll off his man will help us.”

The GIANTS took Aleer with pick 15 and along with Mac Andrew, who went to the Suns at pick five, they became the first two players with South Sudanese heritage to be selected in the first round of the draft.

Some called it a risk, given his injury history, but the GIANTS backed in their medical team and Aleer has played 11 games in the VFL this season.

In his return from a calf injury two weeks ago, he had 16 disposals, nine marks and seven tackles.

Aleer has spent this season learning and waiting. But now he has his chance, with his patience paying off.

And his gratitude for where he’s come from, and those who’ve helped him get here, has never wavered.

“I get butterflies holding this guernsey and being able to put on the orange and charcoal,” he said.

Aleer will make his AFL debut as the GIANTS take on the Swans at the SCG on Saturday at 2:10pm.