The GIANTS will be looking to "nullify" the powerful North Melbourne when it welcomes the NAB AFL Women's competition newcomer to Drummoyne Oval on Friday night.
The GIANTS will be looking for a win in their first home game of the season after dropping the points to Brisbane in a close opening-round away match last Sunday.
This is the second straight year the GIANTS are hosting a match at Drummoyne in Sydney's inner west. Last year, they lost to Carlton in the corresponding round.
Don't miss seeing the GIANTS AFLW team up close at Drummonye Oval on Friday, February 8 - ENTRY IS FREE!
"It was a big occasion last year and we're expecting a big crowd here on Friday," vice-captain Alicia Eva said at a press conference at the venue on Wednesday.
"A lot has been spoken about our squad this year and we're pretty pumped to run out on our home deck," she said.
The GIANTS finished 2018 impressively and have been widely tipped to be contenders this year.
They'll be taking on the Kangaroos, who thumped Carlton in Hobart last Sunday in their AFLW debut.
"They'll come up here feeling pretty confident after the way they played, but we will go over what they did really well and look to nullify that," Eva said.
Despite walking away with a NAB AFLW Rising Star nomination for her standout round-one performance, first-year midfielder Alyce Parker is keen for a taste of victory.
"If we could have gotten the win (against the Lions, the Rising Star nomination) would have been a lot more special," Parker said on Wednesday
"But we're looking forward to round two and hopefully getting that 'W'."
Eva has had to make a slight adjustment in having Parker as a teammate after coaching the youngster in the NSW/ACT team at last year's NAB AFLW Under-18 Championships.
"That was something we both had a laugh about early on, with the transition from coach and player to now being teammates," Eva said.
"She's actually my locker buddy as well."
MATCH INFO: Plan your Friday evening at Drummoyne Oval
Parker is one of an impressive crop of draftees – including Victorians Nina Morrison (Geelong) and Maddy Prespakis (Carlton) – driving the standard of the competition up after coming through the elite junior player pathways.
"People are speaking about season one compared to the games last weekend, and how far the skill level has (improved)," Eva said.
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Although she made a confident debut, Parker believes she has plenty of improvement in her and is looking at round one as "learning experience."
"There was a lot to learn from. There are things I need to work on," she said.
Parker moved to Sydney from her Holbrook home in southern New South Wales only two weeks after being drafted last October.
The 18-year-old described the move as her "biggest challenge" so far, but the GIANTS are working hard to make her and others at the club who have moved from interstate (17) and overseas (two) at home.
Eva, who moved north from Victoria to join the club from Collingwood at the end of the 2017 season, said it had done a superb job looking after recruits.
"The club culture needs to be one that's inclusive, diverse and creates that real family-like environment," she said.
"They've done that really well."
