After two years in the AFL system, GIANTS vice-captain Tom Scully believes his younger teammates now know what it takes to make it in the AFL.

He may only be 22, but Tom Scully has always been mature for his years. And now, he has some help.

With the bulk of the GIANTS list coming into their third season, former number one draft pick Scully said the teenagers who arrived at the club with him in 2012 now understand what it means to be a professional footballer.

“We’ve certainly matured a fair bit and understand what it takes to play AFL week-in-week-out,” Scully said.

“From my previous two years here, the level of of professionalism has gone up another level.

“The training standards have certainly gone up and the just the general standards around the club have certainly lifted as well.

“Small steps but we’re making some really good progress.”

The GIANTS hit the field for the first time in 2014 when they took on the Swans at StarTrack Oval in Canberra last Thursday night.

While the scoreboard may have read a 40-point loss, there were plenty of positives for Scully and the side to take out of the game.

“We’ve been training for the past three or four months doing a lot of match play between ourselves but it was just a great opportunity to get out there against a really good opposition and test out the things we’ve been training over the summer months,” he said.

The GIANTS will travel to Wagga Wagga this weekend to take on St Kilda at Robertson Oval on Saturday afternoon and Scully said the club is looking forward to the challenge as a group.

“Going down to Wagga it gives us an opportunity again to try and do the things we’ve been training for the last couple of months,” Scully said.

“It’s a great challenge as well. St Kilda are a team who, obviously they’ve been training really hard as well, they’re going to be trying to do the same thing as well so it’s going to be a really good challenge for us.

“We have a few boys who are from that area as well so probably a bit more special to them but certainly for us it’s another good opportunity to get away as a group.”

Scully, who has played 71 games in his four seasons in the AFL, was named vice-captain of the GIANTS before the 2013 season and has now been joined in that role by new recruit Heath Shaw.

Scully said the GIANTS’ five new recruits - Shaw, Shane Mumford, Josh Hunt, Dylan Addison and Jed Lamb - have been invaluable for the club.

“They’ve all been fantastic acquisitions for the club, I think they all bring different skill sets and leadership qualities but all in their own way they’ve been very valuable to the group and as the season progresses and hopefully for many years to come they’re going to be very valuable assets,” he said.

Just 18 days out from Round 1, Scully said the Battle of the Bridge at Spotless Stadium is the GIANTS’ biggest game of the year.

“It’s going to be massive, playing the Sydney Swans in Round 1, hopefully it’s going to be a great rivalry for years to come.

“Everyone is looking forward to it, to see how Sydney shape up and obviously how much we’ve improved. It’s going to be a really good game and hopefully we can get as many people there to the ground - it’s a great venue to watch football from and I think Round 1, everyone’s just going to be itching to get out there and have a real hard crack.”

Two years after he made the move from Melbourne, Scully has settled in the Hills District in western Sydney and is loving his life in Sydney.

“This is my third year here now and I think I have adapted to the lifestyle and certainly feel pretty comfortable here now so it’s just the norm and starts to feel like home,” he said.

And he’s even started a family with his 12-month-old miniature fox terrier, Benji.

“He’s a bit of a handful but certainly great company, he’s a good housemate.”