Greater Western Sydney Giants officials have confirmed they are weighing up a potential change to the club's name after realising it doesn't make any sense. The Giants played their first match in the 2012 season and have made one grand final appearance. But despite the club's popularity increasing across the last decade and a half, AFL fans have frequently criticised the name – and now club chairman Tim Reed appears to have realised they're right.
Fan Criticism Over Name
There have been calls for the Giants to shed the 'Greater Western Sydney' part of their moniker because Sydneysiders have never used it to describe the area. 'It's something that we might contemplate in time,' club Reed said. 'The most important part of a brand is what it stands for.'
'No one who you ask who lives in Sydney says "I live in Greater Western Sydney". It's not a term that people naturally identify with, so it brings no benefit to the club in terms of a brand.'
Fan Reactions
Fans have reacted positively to the possibility the team will go by a different tag. 'I lived in NSW and aside from GWS I never once heard anyone say greater western Sydney it means nothing to anyone,' one fan said on X. 'Should never have been called Greater Western Sydney, which became GWS. Should always have been West/Western Sydney,' another added. 'They couldn't work that out 15 years ago?' one more said. 'Should’ve always just been Western Sydney Giants,' another claimed.
Eddie McGuire's Proposal
AFL identity Eddie McGuire is a fan of the change, but he believes it doesn't go anywhere near far enough. 'I just think the NSW Giants and get them playing as they are in Canberra and get the whole lot,' McGuire told Channel Nine's Footy Classified. 'Sydney Swans. NSW, they (Giants) get the whole lot – don't just look at one little pocket.' He added: 'They went with GWS because they didn't want to call them the Blacktown Giants or anything else. They wanted to spread it out in much the same way as the Western Bulldogs have been able to do.'
