The GIANTS will unveil their sixth fresh new face this season in Sunday’s Sydney Derby at Henson Park, with former Swan Aliesha Newman set to make her GIANTS debut against her former side.
An exciting small forward with 59 games of AFLW experience, Newman will don the orange and charcoal for the first time after joining the club via a trade with the Swans in the summer.
Born in Victoria, the GIANTS are the experienced forward’s fourth club after having spent time with Melbourne and Collingwood before her time with the Swans.
Originally recruited by the Demons back in 2016, Newman quickly established herself as one of the AFLW’s most electric players around goal and in 2018 won the AFLW Goal of the Year.
Known for speed and her willingness to take the game on, Newman will be sure to add a spark to the GIANTS forward line against some familiar faces on Sunday.
Newman will face her old side after two seasons in red and white where she brought up her 50th AFLW game last year. The crafty forward also played in the Swans’ first finals campaign last season where she kicked a goal in each of their two finals.
Also a proud Indigenous woman of Ningy Ningy descent, the 28-year-old is a strong leader and role model and has brought a wealth of leadership and knowledge to the GIANTS’ exciting young list.
GIANTS coach Cam Bernasconi is excited to inject Newman into his side this week as the club looks to continue its positive start to the 2024 season.
“Aliesha has been fantastic since arriving at the club and it’s great that we can give her an opportunity to showcase her weapons on Sunday,” Bernasconi said.
“We’ve seen across the pre-season that she’s a very crafty and dangerous player ahead of the footy and we’reexcited to see her showcase her strengths this weekend against her old side.
“Aliesha also brings a great amount of experience and knowledge that will really benefit our exciting young forward line and we’re really looking forward to seeing what the group can produce on Sunday.”
The GIANTS and the Swans will clash for bragging rights at Henson Park on Sunday at 3:05pm in the third AFLW Sydney Derby.
The GIANTS will name their squad for the clash at 6:20pm on Thursday and their final team at 5pm on Friday at gwsgiants.com.au.
GIANTS fans can purchase tickets to Sunday’s game via Ticketmaster.
