The Orange Army officially welcomed a host of new members to its ranks over the weekend, with the GIANTS hosting the families of their newest recruits for their annual family induction weekend.  

Opening its doors on Friday, the GIANTS’ newest faces [featuring their draftees as well as boom recruit Jake Stringer] welcomed their parents, partners, siblings and grandparents to the club where they were given a tour of the GIANTS’ facilities, met with senior players and staff – which included briefings about the players' new lives - and watched as the newcomers were put through a gruelling match simulation training session.

The loved ones travelled to Sydney from across the country for the induction weekend, with Jack Ough, Ollie Hannaford and Harry Oliver’s families venturing up from Victoria, while Cody Angove’s family made the trek all the way from Western Australia to get a firsthand look at the midfielder’s new life as a GIANT.

Speaking at the club on Friday, Cody Angove’s mother Lauren was loving her up close look at her son’s new lifestyle in orange and charcoal.

“It’s amazing. It’s good to be able to picture where he is everyday training, so it’s been great,” she said.

“The feedback that I’ve gotten is that he’s settled in really well and he’s very happy here.”

The proud mum was also enjoying spending time meeting the other proud parents of the GIANTS’ newest crop.

“They’re great. It's interesting to hear their experiences from the draft and leading up to that and it’s been a lot of fun catching up on everyone’s stories and putting faces to names.”

GIANTS Academy product Logan Smith’s parents were also loving the experience.

“It’s pretty surreal,” his mother Amanda said.

“Especially seeing him being out there today with all the big-name players.

“His journey has been pretty amazing coming from the Academy to the AFL list and it's all pretty surreal really.”

Logan’s father Jason added that the promising young ruck was settling in well and that the entire family was loving the experience with the GIANTS.

“I’ve had a couple of conversations with him about it and he’s settling in pretty well and making new mates and things like that and I can see him growing every week which has been good to watch,” Jason said.

“It’s a great club to be at and a very family orientated club so we are really enjoying it.”

Having regularly welcomed players from interstate since the club’s inception, the GIANTS take pride in their first-class induction process, with Welfare and Player Development Manager Dylan Addison highlighting the importance of the induction weekend.

“It’s a great weekend for the club and especially for the players and their families. They get to come up and see what we do and how we operate and see where they’ve landed,” he said.

“It’s a bit of a journey for the young kids to get drafted and it all goes pretty quick once their name gets called and so it’s critical that we get their families up here to see what we do and how we operate and what goes on and where they live and give them a little bit of comfort,  and also get them to see the sights of Sydney as well.”

Addison said the importance of family is engrained in the club’s culture.

“Since day one it’s been about recruiting players and people as well as their families and bringing them along for the journey. Obviously its super exciting for the players in terms of their football journey but equally, if not more, for their families as well.

“We are aware it’s a huge transition for the players into a footy program, but over and above that it’s moving to a new city for a lot of our draftees and moving in with people you don’t know, so it’s a huge step and so it’s important we bring these families along for the ride.

“We’ve certainly had an open-door policy from day one in terms of including families in what we do and we love that and will continue to do that.”

Across the three-day GIANTS induction weekend the loved ones of the club’s newest recruits took part in a host of events across the club and the Harbour City.