The Greater Western Sydney GIANTS 2011 campaign kicks off in just a few short days in the newly created North East Australian Football League (NEAFL).
The NEAFL is a new AFL league that engages communities in Queensland, Northern Territory, NSW and the ACT in an interstate competition. The NEAFL will improve second tier football in these areas and will comprise of a Northern and Eastern conference.
After a challenging pre season the young GIANTS squad is gearing up to take on Ainslie Football Club at Ainslie at 2pm on Saturday April 9.
Ahead of their first match of the home and away season, GIANTS reporter Beck Mills caught up with West Australian GIANT, Gerald Ugle to reflect on the club’s pre-season, discuss how far the young GIANTS have come over the last few months and the exciting challenge that lies ahead in the NEAFL competition.
So Gerald, now that the pre season is over, how is the team feeling about the past couple of months and what have you taken out of it?
“We’ve come a long way as a group over the pre season. We’ve really bonded as a team. We live together and train together and we’ve had the time to really get to know each other’s weaknesses and strengths and are starting to work together a lot better. We’re starting to move towards the structures that we set out at the beginning of the pre season. I’m really looking forward to Ainslie now and having a chance to play for premiership points.”
What was your highlight of the pre season?
“For me personally, kicking two goals against Port Adelaide was the highlight. Kicking two goals against an AFL side felt pretty special. I was playing down the back so to kick one goal felt pretty good and to get another one on top of that felt even better.”
How is the team feeling after last week’s clash with the Swans reserves?
“I’m pretty sore after last week’s game. I’ve got a lot to work on, a few of the things that I was working towards for last week I didn’t really achieve so I just need to focus and re set my goals in preparation for this week.
“The team was pretty disappointed with last week’s loss but we learnt a lot of things that we can carry with us moving into the home and away season.
“We learnt that we need to play the full game out and can’t just rely on the first quarter, we need to give it 100 percent the whole way through.”
What are you focusing on heading into Saturday’s match against Ainslie?
“The defensive side of my game is something that I’m looking at for the moment because I’m playing down the back.
“The team will just be focusing on the same things that we’ve been looking at during the pre season. We’ll be working hard on our press, our general game style and getting our structures right.”
What are your thoughts on entering a brand new competition this week?
“The NEAFL will be a really good experience for everyone that’s going into the new competition. To have all the Canberra teams, Gold Coast reserves, Brisbane reserves and Sydney reserves in the same competition is a really great opportunity.
“It’s going to be a pretty tough competition from what I’ve heard so all the boys are a bit nervous at the moment but there’s a lot of excitement around the club as well.”
GWS GIANTS v Ainslie FC
Ainslie Oval
Saturday April 9, 2pm
