The GIANTS’ newest mascot, Gigi, has landed in Western Sydney ready for the 2018 NAB AFL Women’s season.
Gigi is born and bred in Canberra and growing up, she was always a lot taller than the other kids at school.
She knew about AFL football of course because the GIANTS had been playing in Canberra for years.
She knew Jon Patton and Callan Ward and some of the other GIANTS and had even been to a few games.
But it wasn’t until earlier this year that Gigi truly fell in love with the game.
A brand new friend is coming. #NeverSurrender pic.twitter.com/UfK731RNzP
— GWS GIANTS (@GWSGIANTS) December 18, 2017
She went along to UNSW Canberra Oval in March to watch the GIANTS’ AFL Women’s team play in their very first season.
She was amazed. Here were girls, just like her, playing on the same grounds as the boys. And just as good!
She was among more than 6,000 people who watched the AFLW team play that night and her Mum and Dad told her that those girls would have started playing at the age she was now!
After the game she met Erin McKinnon, the GIANTS’ ruck. Erin was even taller than Gigi! Erin told her that she started playing when she was a kid and fell in love with the game immediately.
Being so tall, Erin told Gigi that her height was an advantage. She could jump higher than the other players and take big marks.
That season she signed up for Auskick so one day she could be a GIANTS AFLW player too.
Gigi learned that AFL is a game that boys and girls of any size can play and soon she was attending as many games as she could both in Canberra and Sydney.
She’s on her way... pic.twitter.com/ATwwd3upnR
— GWS GIANTS (@GWSGIANTS) December 19, 2017
One day, at a GIANTS post-match event with their families at the WestConnex Centre, Gigi met a big strong boy from Blacktown called GMAN.
Having been impressed by her skills, GMAN immediately introduced himself to Gigi and they started talking about their favourite GIANTS players.
Since that day GMAN and Gigi have become inseparable and attend all the GIANTS AFL and AFLW matches together and love to run around during kick-to-kick after the game with the rest of the kids!
Make sure you come and say hi to Gigi next time you're at a GIANTS function or game.
There’s a GIANT in GMAN and Gigi.