In 2012 when the GIANTS were searching for their inaugural number one ticket holder they wanted someone who could not only bring exposure to the club but someone who aligned with the family values they were hoping to build.
Melissa Doyle was the perfect choice.
A successful journalist, author, and former co-host of Australia’s leading breakfast tv show, Sunrise, the then 42-year-old mother of two gladly accepted the role and has never looked back.
Twelve years later, as the GIANTS continue their rapid surge into a preliminary final clash with Collingwood on Friday, Doyle took time to reflect on her journey and the GIANTS’ rise from expansion club to perennial finals contender.
“I’m so proud of what we’ve achieved in the short time we’ve had to get to this point because we never underestimate how tough it’s been,” Doyle said.
“Being in finals and the intense emotions that all brings and knowing there’s people that have come along on the journey with us is really special.
“We are forging into territory that wasn’t traditionally AFL heartland and that’s going to take time but if we can just bring one person along at a time and show how fabulous the game is, and how much they’ll get out of it, that’s our job and we’re continuing to do that” she said.
Doyle recalls joining the GIANTS with big ambitions as to what the club could become.
“More than anything it was excitement of what was to come,” she said looking back.
“There was definitely an element of us being the underdogs, but we all knew that and that was pretty exciting.”
“I liken it back to Sunrise when ‘Kochie’ [David Koch] and I started hosting together when nobody watched it and nobody thought we could do it and we were definitely the underdogs.
“So, to be part of building something and growing something from the beginning again is a really unique privilege and I was so excited to know what we could do.”
The proud number one ticket holder said her ambitions had more than been fulfilled.
“To know that we have families and friends gathering to watch us and be part of the ride is special,” she said.
“The team was getting flogged in the early days and it was tough but they just kept getting up and back to it and absolutely giving it their full commitment.
“As did everyone because we knew we were going to get there, and now we are there I think it makes those tough moments sweeter.
“Like anything, you are moulded by the hardships….and to see where the club is now, and to be deep in finals again, is really, really incredible.”
The 53-year-old admits she feels maternal about some of the players she helped nurture since entering the club as fresh-faced teenagers.
“One thing for me as my role as number one ticket holder, I’m always overwhelmed with how, and it might sound crazy, but how maternal I feel towards our boys [the GIANTS AFL team],” she said.
“Especially back then when we had a bunch of 17-year-olds.
“I remember having a glass of champagne before the very first game with a bunch of the boy’s mums and reassuring Jane Coniglio [Stephen Coniglio’s mum] and so many of the mums that we would look after their boys and how they were now a part of our family.
“Even to this day, I’ve got a strong relationship with Jane [Coniglio], and Toby Greene’s mum, and Lachie Whitfield’s mum.
“We just wanted all the families to know we would welcome them into our greater family and that’s something we set to do at the very beginning and if anything, it’s just gotten stronger.
“To this day it’s something I’m really proud of, it's something that’s defined who we are as a team and as a club.”
Doyle said bringing families together and providing hope through the club was always a rewarding experience.
“Nothing is better than going to a game and seeing families and kids and whoever else is along for the ride eating their chips and cheering on, particularly when you know that they’re traditionally not AFL fans,” she said.
“I remember sitting next to a dad and his daughter at the AFLW and his girl was just about in tears with excitement because she could watch girls play and they’re the moments that bring it all right back to what we are doing and why we’re doing it.”
Being a family club was an important factor in Doyle’s decision to join the GIANTS before a ball had even been bounced.
“One thing that struck me was that they picked a 42-year-old mother of two to be their number one ticket holder,” she said.
“I think what that said about us as a club and the direction and the culture that we were aiming to develop and grow said a lot about who we were going to be.
“Even the early days, when I said yes, I said ‘well if you want me, you get the family as well.’
“I had two small children at that point and like anyone you work really hard from Monday to Friday and I didn’t want to be leaving my kids on the weekend to come out and cheer on my footy club.
“So it was a case of if you get one of us, you get all four of us (her husband John and two kids Nick and Natalia) and the club was fully onboard.
“It was a really essential part of who we were and who we were becoming which was a true family club.”
Turning her attention to the huge preliminary final on Friday against the Magpies, Doyle said the GIANTS would continue to stay true to their values, and one in particular.
“We always talk about our slogan ‘Never Surrender’ and with a lot of our decisions as a board and a club, we bring ourselves back to who we are and what we stand for, and here we are in September 2023 and we’ll continue to never surrender.”
