When I finished at Essendon at the end of 2007, little did I know that just two years later I would be heading to Western Sydney helping to start the AFL’s 18th club.

I still remember arriving in Sydney and being taken on a helicopter ride with AFL Commissioner Sam Mostyn. As I looked out over the vast expanse that is Western Sydney and home to two million people, I immediately saw the enormous opportunity for our game.

We quickly got to work building a club. We had no name, no colours, no players and no staff. But we had a vision and a chance to do something that had never been done before. To create history.

With the help of Gubby Allan, Alan McConnell and Brett Hand we assembled the first team. We then bumped into a bloke called Israel Folau who said he’d also be keen to help. Things were starting to roll.

One of our best discoveries was Breakfast Point which was to become the living quarters for our young players.  Thanks to our welfare team of Mel and Craig Lambert this enabled young players to settle into life in Sydney and share their journey together.

Our first office was at Rooty Hill RSL and training ground at Blacktown. Our first batch of recruits included Jeremy Cameron, Adam Treloar and Dylan Shiel. Things were quickly taking shape.

Soon others arrived and we were playing our first game against the Swans in front of 38,000 people at ANZ Stadium. What a moment. Almost as good as our first win six weeks later against the Gold Coast Suns in Canberra.  Most predicted we wouldn’t win a game in our first year. We won two.

Since then the GIANTS have grown quickly. In just three years we have:

•    Built a talented and exciting playing list headed by coach Leon Cameron
•    Opened a world class venue Spotless Stadium
•    Developed a state of the art training and administration facility at Sydney Olympic Park
•    Established a genuine AFL club presence in Canberra, including the first game in the national capital on Anzac  Day in 2015
•    Grown a passionate and loyal fan base including 13,000 members
•    Developed a suite of corporate and community partners including brands such as Virgin Australia, SpotJobs, Woolworths, Dyldam, Hostplus and Cabcharge
•    Set up the PM CAPITAL GIANTS Academy to create a pathway for local juniors to the AFL, including four players drafted this year
•    Enjoyed our first win over the Sydney Swans

I could go on and on but the last point is critical as we have now established a genuine rivalry with the Swans in Australia’s biggest city. And, in time, this will become one of the biggest rivalries in Australian sport.

Importantly, we now have a second club in Australia’s biggest city. That means bigger crowds, bigger memberships, bigger TV ratings and more people playing our game.

Indeed, we are witnessing generational change. Since the GIANTS entered the AFL, participation in Western Sydney has grown 70 per cent.

That’s not something the naysayers from Victoria want to hear. Just this week one of them opined that the AFL was so “distinctly Victorian” that it could not be embraced by the people of Sydney.

Try telling that to the young kids from Concord to Penrith who are playing our game and wearing the GIANTS colours. Tell that to the Auburn GIANTS, a group of predominantly young Muslim women who are embracing our game and now starting their own youth girls team.

Tell that to the fans in Western Sydney, some of whom travel across Australia to follow the team. Tell that to our players who spend 4000 hours a year out in the community visiting schools, hospitals and junior clubs and are watching the game grow before their eyes.

The same small minded individuals also said the Swans would never work. They went on to win premierships and are now one of the biggest sporting clubs in Sydney and the AFL.

Our game will appeal to people for the same reasons it has always appealed. It’s open, inclusive, family friendly and it’s our Indigenous game. It’s also spectacular to watch. Great family entertainment.

Make no mistake. The GIANTS are on the map and going places. Fast. Just last week a superstar in the making, Jeremy Cameron, signed a five year contract with the club.

Why? Because he wants to play in a premiership with his teammates. He also loves the Sydney lifestyle, particularly the fishing in the Parramatta River. As someone who has lived next door to it for the past five years I can appreciate just how magnificent it is. In fact, I’m going to miss it.

I leave the GIANTS knowing the foundations have been laid. It’s been an honour and privilege to be part of it and I thank everybody I’ve met along the journey for your support and encouragement. I will miss you all but will be thinking of you as the GIANTS climb the ladder towards ultimate success.

This is going to be great club and I will now be a GIANT for life.