Greater Western Sydney GIANTS young gun Dylan Shiel has reflected on his Round 1 AFL debut ahead of the Sydney Derby II at ANZ Stadium.
Shiel was one of nineteen young GIANTS who made their debut in the AFL season opener at ANZ Stadium in March and said it is an experience that he will never forget despite his limited preparation in pre season training.
“Playing the first game was really exciting, there was a real buzz around the club,” Shiel said.
“I can remember a lot about it. I was really excited to make my debut but my preparation in the lead up to that game wasn’t too flash.
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“About a month before that I got my appendix out and I only played about a half of footy in the NEAFL before I made my debut.
“I was subbed off at ¾ time and didn’t have the impact that I wanted to for the team.
“It was fast and the opposition bodies were hard.”
The NAB AFL Rising Star nominee said that the young GIANTS had learnt a lot since their first encounter with the Sydney Swans and were looking forward to taking it to their cross-town rivals on Saturday night.
“We learnt how strong we have to be and we’ve done a lot of development over the last few months. We are better prepared.
“We’ve worked on our strategies and tactics around our game plan and a lot of players have improved individually every week.
“I think we can really take it up to the Swans and do it better than we did last time.”
The GIANTS midfielder, who last month signed a three year contract extension with the club, says that while the foundations of the GIANTS and Swans rivalry are being laid in the opening clashes, it would continue to build as time goes on.
“It’s going to be a massive rivalry in years to come. We are concentrating on week-to-week football and looking to gain respect for the way that we play,” Shiel said.
By Rebecca Mills
Sydney Swans v GIANTS
ANZ Stadium
7.40pm Saturday June 30
