The 2014 NEAFL season kicks-off this weekend and UWS GIANTS coach Brett Hand says competition for senior spots has never been more fierce.

The GIANTS reserves play their first official match against NT Thunder in Darwin on Saturday night following successive practice match wins over Swans reserves and Sydney Hills Eagles.

“We’re competitive at the moment and only have three or four players on the injury list so we’ve got a reasonably full strength squad,” Hand said.

“Everyone’s aiming for spots in the AFL team… players have to stick to the game plan and if they do then they’re putting their hand up.

“We want to see guys pushing each other and earning their spots.”

Hand said the GIANTS’ number one and two draftees; Tom Boyd and Josh Kelly, are among those pushing for senior selection.

“Josh Kelly has been quite impressive over the pre-season and was unlucky to miss out last week and Tom Boyd played his role with four goals against Swans reserves,” he said.

“Will Hoskin-Elliott, Jacob Townsend and Mark Whiley are also certainly playing some good footy.

“The focus for us is to make sure guys who are playing some solid NEAFL footy can play the same role when they go up.”

With hot and humid temperatures forecast in Darwin over the weekend, Hand expects his chargers to acclimatise quickly.

“It could be anything from 33 degrees ... to thunderstorms coming down,” he said

“It will be different conditions for our boys but they’ll have to adapt, we expect them to put their hand up and cope with it.”

Teams will be announced at gwsgiants.com.au at 6.25pm on Thursday.

You can catch a live stream of the NEAFL match, with further details to come later in the week.