Latest news with #GWSGiants
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
GWS star recruit embraces 'interesting' super-sub role
GWS star recruit Jake Stringer has breathed new life into his first season with the Giants thanks to an unlikely role, as a super substitute. The 31-year-old had struggled to find form at his third AFL club after spending the pre-season recovering from illness, only to injure his hamstring twice in three months. But in a memorable pre-bye return against Gold Coast, after six weeks on the sidelines, Stringer kicked the match-winning goal to set up GWS's seven-point victory. Stringer entered the fray far earlier than expected at Engie Stadium, having been subbed on in the second quarter after teammate Lachie Whitfield sustained a concussion. But the star forward, who has tallied 377 goals from 220 AFL games, never lost confidence in his body's ability to hold up. JAKE STRINGER 🤯#AFLGiantsSuns — AFL (@AFL) June 22, 2025 "The plan was obviously to be the sub, pretty much from the start," he told AAP. "But I'd done a power of work over the last five weeks, so I knew if I was going to be called on early I was ready to go. "I definitely felt good out there, and felt like I had my speed and power. I was lucky enough to hit the scoreboard late, and get a good win." The 2016 premiership player slotted two crucial goals in the final quarter as GWS snatched the win, having trailed by 29 points earlier in the game. "It was my first goal here (at Engine Stadium) in the Giants' colours. I knew there was someone coming so I knew I had to kick it hard," he said. "As soon as it come off the boot, I knew it wasn't missing. "It was good to get one late finally and back it up a couple minutes later." Stringer notably booted three goals, his best effort as a Giant, while serving as the sub in a round-eight SCG derby loss. "It's an interesting role, but I seem to find a good balance in being able to do it," Stringer said. "But it's like anything, I just try and make my moments matter when I have the ball, or when the ball's in my vicinity." It has been a stop-start season for the Giants but victories over the Suns and Brisbane Lions provided a major morale and momentum boost ahead of their round-16 bye. "It's massive to be able to get a win going into the bye," Stringer said. "We really wanted to finish the last two games off really well and we've done that ... we'll get ready for a charger back-half of the season."
The Advertiser
5 days ago
- Sport
- The Advertiser
How the AFL stumbled, rebooted in key grassroots battle
How do you get western Sydney to fall in love with Australian rules football? It's the question the AFL has been asking since former chief executive Andrew Demetriou laid the groundwork for the GWS Giants in 2005 and headhunted Israel Folau. Two decades on, they still don't have the exact answer. But it's not an exact science either, when the region you're working in is a vast sporting battleground. Western Sydney - by government terms - starts eight kilometres outside of the city's CBD in Canterbury Bankstown and goes as far west as the Blue Mountains, south to the Wollondilly Shire and north to the Hawkesbury. It's almost 9000 square kilometres of land, with an estimated population of nearly three million. Rugby league rules. NRL clubs Parramatta, Canterbury, Wests Tigers and Penrith boast rusted-on supporters and local production lines of talent, while rugby union and soccer have long had goal posts in the ground. The AFL's fight for attention above the Barassi Line has evolved since the Giants' AFL debut in 2012, but arguably never been harder. Andrew Varasdi, head of AFL NSW/ACT, simplifies the mission to "connecting the game to more people in more ways for more time". "Falling in love with it ultimately is what we want, what every code wants people to do," Varasdi told AAP. "You're born with Aussie rules in your blood in Victoria. The number one barrier for us in western Sydney is still that we're a second-choice sport. "Even as a second-choice sport, we rank between five and seven on that list. "The number one barrier is absolutely top-of-mind preparedness to actually play the game ... saying 'I'm gonna give it a go'." The AFL's challenge goes far deeper than rival football codes. More than 40 per cent of western Sydney's 2.7 million residents are immigrants, according to the most recent census in 2021. Nearly 80 per cent of residents have at least one parent born overseas. Almost half of the population speak a language other than English at home, and nearly 10 per cent don't speak English at all. Some locals aren't aware Sherrins exist, let alone how they might go about kicking one. There are also the obvious hurdles created by a cost-of-living crisis. AFL NSW/ACT is now running camps that don't revolve around football, with Varasdi saying the organisation's Indigenous programs in Blacktown and Campbelltown have a heavy focus on culture. Other pilot programs will aim to give primary school children a "full AFL experience" from Year 1 to 6, with Varasdi acknowledging the leap from casual introduction to 16-week club program commitment is immense. "Instead of doing it with short-term programs, we've got to do it with kids at the right time for the right amount of time," he said. "How do we involve our players from the Giants? How do we use the assets, like games at Engie Stadium? How do we actually engage local clubs, upskill them? "How do we leverage our theme around our multicultural rounds? All these sorts of things provide not just a great experience in terms of footy, but provide something to the community as well." Various initiatives have helped the sport's grassroots participation numbers recover since nosediving in the COVID-19 pandemic. Varasdi says there are more than 1000 Auskick participants, with previous years being half of that. The AFL hopes to grow the number to 5000 children playing in the under-12 category within three to five years. AFL crowd and broadcast numbers create plenty of code-war headlines, but junior players hold the key to the long-term growth that league HQ and the Giants are so desperate for. AFL boss Andrew Dillon has highlighted a desire to "turbocharge" participation rates in the region - and notably appointed Tom Harley as his understudy, someone who knows that battle well from stints running AFL NSW/ACT and the Sydney Swans. Beau Cook, a volunteer at junior club Penrith Giants, says the biggest help for parents has been the 'Play Your Way' program launched during summer. The voucher scheme - the result of a meeting with 14 local clubs and the AFL executive - provides up to $100 off registration fees, with the biggest discount afforded to those in western Sydney. Almost 1,700 vouchers have been redeemed. Penrith Giants' Auskick numbers sit around 150, down from when 250 participated pre-pandemic, but the club is up 25 per cent in under-11 registrations. "I dare say that Play Your Way voucher had a big impact on it," Cook told AAP. It's the retention of older players that has proved the biggest obstacle for Cook's club and those dotted throughout the region. The Giants only have two AFL players from western Sydney on their list: ruck Kieren Briggs and first-year Joey Delana. AFL NSW/ACT has brought back its 'Future Stars' program, where around 50 primary school-aged children are invited to a camp at the Giants in a bid to fast-track elite talent. "We're at a bit of a loss. Once we figure out the retention piece, I think that would be our next focus," Cook told AAP. "Our oldest age group is in under 14s, and that's a joint venture between us and three clubs. "Parents are really busy. A lot of our older age participants, it sort of gets to a clutch point where they are playing two sports. "Our more elite players, they have to hone in on getting better at a sport. Often, AFL sort of goes a bit to the side." Dillon, whose meeting with 14 local club presidents last November was well received in the area, is confident the sport has "righted the ship" in the region. "But I just think we're scratching the surface," Dillon told AAP. "I've been to a lot of community footy meetings. In western Sydney, it was not dissimilar to meetings I've been to in Victoria - a lot of the challenges are the same, but there are some challenges that are unique to Sydney. "The volunteers who were in that room, the presidents of the clubs, the others who were there, were as passionate a football community as I've seen anywhere else. "Wouldn't it be great to come back here in three years' time and have 36 or 54 (local) clubs?" How do you get western Sydney to fall in love with Australian rules football? It's the question the AFL has been asking since former chief executive Andrew Demetriou laid the groundwork for the GWS Giants in 2005 and headhunted Israel Folau. Two decades on, they still don't have the exact answer. But it's not an exact science either, when the region you're working in is a vast sporting battleground. Western Sydney - by government terms - starts eight kilometres outside of the city's CBD in Canterbury Bankstown and goes as far west as the Blue Mountains, south to the Wollondilly Shire and north to the Hawkesbury. It's almost 9000 square kilometres of land, with an estimated population of nearly three million. Rugby league rules. NRL clubs Parramatta, Canterbury, Wests Tigers and Penrith boast rusted-on supporters and local production lines of talent, while rugby union and soccer have long had goal posts in the ground. The AFL's fight for attention above the Barassi Line has evolved since the Giants' AFL debut in 2012, but arguably never been harder. Andrew Varasdi, head of AFL NSW/ACT, simplifies the mission to "connecting the game to more people in more ways for more time". "Falling in love with it ultimately is what we want, what every code wants people to do," Varasdi told AAP. "You're born with Aussie rules in your blood in Victoria. The number one barrier for us in western Sydney is still that we're a second-choice sport. "Even as a second-choice sport, we rank between five and seven on that list. "The number one barrier is absolutely top-of-mind preparedness to actually play the game ... saying 'I'm gonna give it a go'." The AFL's challenge goes far deeper than rival football codes. More than 40 per cent of western Sydney's 2.7 million residents are immigrants, according to the most recent census in 2021. Nearly 80 per cent of residents have at least one parent born overseas. Almost half of the population speak a language other than English at home, and nearly 10 per cent don't speak English at all. Some locals aren't aware Sherrins exist, let alone how they might go about kicking one. There are also the obvious hurdles created by a cost-of-living crisis. AFL NSW/ACT is now running camps that don't revolve around football, with Varasdi saying the organisation's Indigenous programs in Blacktown and Campbelltown have a heavy focus on culture. Other pilot programs will aim to give primary school children a "full AFL experience" from Year 1 to 6, with Varasdi acknowledging the leap from casual introduction to 16-week club program commitment is immense. "Instead of doing it with short-term programs, we've got to do it with kids at the right time for the right amount of time," he said. "How do we involve our players from the Giants? How do we use the assets, like games at Engie Stadium? How do we actually engage local clubs, upskill them? "How do we leverage our theme around our multicultural rounds? All these sorts of things provide not just a great experience in terms of footy, but provide something to the community as well." Various initiatives have helped the sport's grassroots participation numbers recover since nosediving in the COVID-19 pandemic. Varasdi says there are more than 1000 Auskick participants, with previous years being half of that. The AFL hopes to grow the number to 5000 children playing in the under-12 category within three to five years. AFL crowd and broadcast numbers create plenty of code-war headlines, but junior players hold the key to the long-term growth that league HQ and the Giants are so desperate for. AFL boss Andrew Dillon has highlighted a desire to "turbocharge" participation rates in the region - and notably appointed Tom Harley as his understudy, someone who knows that battle well from stints running AFL NSW/ACT and the Sydney Swans. Beau Cook, a volunteer at junior club Penrith Giants, says the biggest help for parents has been the 'Play Your Way' program launched during summer. The voucher scheme - the result of a meeting with 14 local clubs and the AFL executive - provides up to $100 off registration fees, with the biggest discount afforded to those in western Sydney. Almost 1,700 vouchers have been redeemed. Penrith Giants' Auskick numbers sit around 150, down from when 250 participated pre-pandemic, but the club is up 25 per cent in under-11 registrations. "I dare say that Play Your Way voucher had a big impact on it," Cook told AAP. It's the retention of older players that has proved the biggest obstacle for Cook's club and those dotted throughout the region. The Giants only have two AFL players from western Sydney on their list: ruck Kieren Briggs and first-year Joey Delana. AFL NSW/ACT has brought back its 'Future Stars' program, where around 50 primary school-aged children are invited to a camp at the Giants in a bid to fast-track elite talent. "We're at a bit of a loss. Once we figure out the retention piece, I think that would be our next focus," Cook told AAP. "Our oldest age group is in under 14s, and that's a joint venture between us and three clubs. "Parents are really busy. A lot of our older age participants, it sort of gets to a clutch point where they are playing two sports. "Our more elite players, they have to hone in on getting better at a sport. Often, AFL sort of goes a bit to the side." Dillon, whose meeting with 14 local club presidents last November was well received in the area, is confident the sport has "righted the ship" in the region. "But I just think we're scratching the surface," Dillon told AAP. "I've been to a lot of community footy meetings. In western Sydney, it was not dissimilar to meetings I've been to in Victoria - a lot of the challenges are the same, but there are some challenges that are unique to Sydney. "The volunteers who were in that room, the presidents of the clubs, the others who were there, were as passionate a football community as I've seen anywhere else. "Wouldn't it be great to come back here in three years' time and have 36 or 54 (local) clubs?" How do you get western Sydney to fall in love with Australian rules football? It's the question the AFL has been asking since former chief executive Andrew Demetriou laid the groundwork for the GWS Giants in 2005 and headhunted Israel Folau. Two decades on, they still don't have the exact answer. But it's not an exact science either, when the region you're working in is a vast sporting battleground. Western Sydney - by government terms - starts eight kilometres outside of the city's CBD in Canterbury Bankstown and goes as far west as the Blue Mountains, south to the Wollondilly Shire and north to the Hawkesbury. It's almost 9000 square kilometres of land, with an estimated population of nearly three million. Rugby league rules. NRL clubs Parramatta, Canterbury, Wests Tigers and Penrith boast rusted-on supporters and local production lines of talent, while rugby union and soccer have long had goal posts in the ground. The AFL's fight for attention above the Barassi Line has evolved since the Giants' AFL debut in 2012, but arguably never been harder. Andrew Varasdi, head of AFL NSW/ACT, simplifies the mission to "connecting the game to more people in more ways for more time". "Falling in love with it ultimately is what we want, what every code wants people to do," Varasdi told AAP. "You're born with Aussie rules in your blood in Victoria. The number one barrier for us in western Sydney is still that we're a second-choice sport. "Even as a second-choice sport, we rank between five and seven on that list. "The number one barrier is absolutely top-of-mind preparedness to actually play the game ... saying 'I'm gonna give it a go'." The AFL's challenge goes far deeper than rival football codes. More than 40 per cent of western Sydney's 2.7 million residents are immigrants, according to the most recent census in 2021. Nearly 80 per cent of residents have at least one parent born overseas. Almost half of the population speak a language other than English at home, and nearly 10 per cent don't speak English at all. Some locals aren't aware Sherrins exist, let alone how they might go about kicking one. There are also the obvious hurdles created by a cost-of-living crisis. AFL NSW/ACT is now running camps that don't revolve around football, with Varasdi saying the organisation's Indigenous programs in Blacktown and Campbelltown have a heavy focus on culture. Other pilot programs will aim to give primary school children a "full AFL experience" from Year 1 to 6, with Varasdi acknowledging the leap from casual introduction to 16-week club program commitment is immense. "Instead of doing it with short-term programs, we've got to do it with kids at the right time for the right amount of time," he said. "How do we involve our players from the Giants? How do we use the assets, like games at Engie Stadium? How do we actually engage local clubs, upskill them? "How do we leverage our theme around our multicultural rounds? All these sorts of things provide not just a great experience in terms of footy, but provide something to the community as well." Various initiatives have helped the sport's grassroots participation numbers recover since nosediving in the COVID-19 pandemic. Varasdi says there are more than 1000 Auskick participants, with previous years being half of that. The AFL hopes to grow the number to 5000 children playing in the under-12 category within three to five years. AFL crowd and broadcast numbers create plenty of code-war headlines, but junior players hold the key to the long-term growth that league HQ and the Giants are so desperate for. AFL boss Andrew Dillon has highlighted a desire to "turbocharge" participation rates in the region - and notably appointed Tom Harley as his understudy, someone who knows that battle well from stints running AFL NSW/ACT and the Sydney Swans. Beau Cook, a volunteer at junior club Penrith Giants, says the biggest help for parents has been the 'Play Your Way' program launched during summer. The voucher scheme - the result of a meeting with 14 local clubs and the AFL executive - provides up to $100 off registration fees, with the biggest discount afforded to those in western Sydney. Almost 1,700 vouchers have been redeemed. Penrith Giants' Auskick numbers sit around 150, down from when 250 participated pre-pandemic, but the club is up 25 per cent in under-11 registrations. "I dare say that Play Your Way voucher had a big impact on it," Cook told AAP. It's the retention of older players that has proved the biggest obstacle for Cook's club and those dotted throughout the region. The Giants only have two AFL players from western Sydney on their list: ruck Kieren Briggs and first-year Joey Delana. AFL NSW/ACT has brought back its 'Future Stars' program, where around 50 primary school-aged children are invited to a camp at the Giants in a bid to fast-track elite talent. "We're at a bit of a loss. Once we figure out the retention piece, I think that would be our next focus," Cook told AAP. "Our oldest age group is in under 14s, and that's a joint venture between us and three clubs. "Parents are really busy. A lot of our older age participants, it sort of gets to a clutch point where they are playing two sports. "Our more elite players, they have to hone in on getting better at a sport. Often, AFL sort of goes a bit to the side." Dillon, whose meeting with 14 local club presidents last November was well received in the area, is confident the sport has "righted the ship" in the region. "But I just think we're scratching the surface," Dillon told AAP. "I've been to a lot of community footy meetings. In western Sydney, it was not dissimilar to meetings I've been to in Victoria - a lot of the challenges are the same, but there are some challenges that are unique to Sydney. "The volunteers who were in that room, the presidents of the clubs, the others who were there, were as passionate a football community as I've seen anywhere else. "Wouldn't it be great to come back here in three years' time and have 36 or 54 (local) clubs?"
Perth Now
5 days ago
- Sport
- Perth Now
How the AFL stumbled, rebooted in key grassroots battle
How do you get western Sydney to fall in love with Australian rules football? It's the question the AFL has been asking since former chief executive Andrew Demetriou laid the groundwork for the GWS Giants in 2005 and headhunted Israel Folau. Two decades on, they still don't have the exact answer. But it's not an exact science either, when the region you're working in is a vast sporting battleground. Western Sydney - by government terms - starts eight kilometres outside of the city's CBD in Canterbury Bankstown and goes as far west as the Blue Mountains, south to the Wollondilly Shire and north to the Hawkesbury. It's almost 9000 square kilometres of land, with an estimated population of nearly three million. Rugby league rules. NRL clubs Parramatta, Canterbury, Wests Tigers and Penrith boast rusted-on supporters and local production lines of talent, while rugby union and soccer have long had goal posts in the ground. The AFL's fight for attention above the Barassi Line has evolved since the Giants' AFL debut in 2012, but arguably never been harder. Andrew Varasdi, head of AFL NSW/ACT, simplifies the mission to "connecting the game to more people in more ways for more time". "Falling in love with it ultimately is what we want, what every code wants people to do," Varasdi told AAP. "You're born with Aussie rules in your blood in Victoria. The number one barrier for us in western Sydney is still that we're a second-choice sport. "Even as a second-choice sport, we rank between five and seven on that list. "The number one barrier is absolutely top-of-mind preparedness to actually play the game ... saying 'I'm gonna give it a go'." The AFL's challenge goes far deeper than rival football codes. More than 40 per cent of western Sydney's 2.7 million residents are immigrants, according to the most recent census in 2021. Nearly 80 per cent of residents have at least one parent born overseas. Almost half of the population speak a language other than English at home, and nearly 10 per cent don't speak English at all. Some locals aren't aware Sherrins exist, let alone how they might go about kicking one. There are also the obvious hurdles created by a cost-of-living crisis. AFL NSW/ACT is now running camps that don't revolve around football, with Varasdi saying the organisation's Indigenous programs in Blacktown and Campbelltown have a heavy focus on culture. Other pilot programs will aim to give primary school children a "full AFL experience" from Year 1 to 6, with Varasdi acknowledging the leap from casual introduction to 16-week club program commitment is immense. "Instead of doing it with short-term programs, we've got to do it with kids at the right time for the right amount of time," he said. "How do we involve our players from the Giants? How do we use the assets, like games at Engie Stadium? How do we actually engage local clubs, upskill them? "How do we leverage our theme around our multicultural rounds? All these sorts of things provide not just a great experience in terms of footy, but provide something to the community as well." Various initiatives have helped the sport's grassroots participation numbers recover since nosediving in the COVID-19 pandemic. Varasdi says there are more than 1000 Auskick participants, with previous years being half of that. The AFL hopes to grow the number to 5000 children playing in the under-12 category within three to five years. AFL crowd and broadcast numbers create plenty of code-war headlines, but junior players hold the key to the long-term growth that league HQ and the Giants are so desperate for. AFL boss Andrew Dillon has highlighted a desire to "turbocharge" participation rates in the region - and notably appointed Tom Harley as his understudy, someone who knows that battle well from stints running AFL NSW/ACT and the Sydney Swans. Beau Cook, a volunteer at junior club Penrith Giants, says the biggest help for parents has been the 'Play Your Way' program launched during summer. The voucher scheme - the result of a meeting with 14 local clubs and the AFL executive - provides up to $100 off registration fees, with the biggest discount afforded to those in western Sydney. Almost 1,700 vouchers have been redeemed. Penrith Giants' Auskick numbers sit around 150, down from when 250 participated pre-pandemic, but the club is up 25 per cent in under-11 registrations. "I dare say that Play Your Way voucher had a big impact on it," Cook told AAP. It's the retention of older players that has proved the biggest obstacle for Cook's club and those dotted throughout the region. The Giants only have two AFL players from western Sydney on their list: ruck Kieren Briggs and first-year Joey Delana. AFL NSW/ACT has brought back its 'Future Stars' program, where around 50 primary school-aged children are invited to a camp at the Giants in a bid to fast-track elite talent. "We're at a bit of a loss. Once we figure out the retention piece, I think that would be our next focus," Cook told AAP. "Our oldest age group is in under 14s, and that's a joint venture between us and three clubs. "Parents are really busy. A lot of our older age participants, it sort of gets to a clutch point where they are playing two sports. "Our more elite players, they have to hone in on getting better at a sport. Often, AFL sort of goes a bit to the side." Dillon, whose meeting with 14 local club presidents last November was well received in the area, is confident the sport has "righted the ship" in the region. "But I just think we're scratching the surface," Dillon told AAP. "I've been to a lot of community footy meetings. In western Sydney, it was not dissimilar to meetings I've been to in Victoria - a lot of the challenges are the same, but there are some challenges that are unique to Sydney. "The volunteers who were in that room, the presidents of the clubs, the others who were there, were as passionate a football community as I've seen anywhere else. "Wouldn't it be great to come back here in three years' time and have 36 or 54 (local) clubs?"
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Sport
- Daily Mail
See the very cheeky way coach sent the AFL a message after he copped a fine for sticking up his middle finger at the umpires during a match
Damien Hardwick isn't shy when it comes to sending the AFL a message - and the passionate Gold Coast Suns sent the league another one following a $2000 fine earlier this week. Hardwick was in disbelief after a free kick wasn't paid against GWS Giants star Jake Stringer on June 22 in Sydney with the game on the line - and 'Dimma' made his feelings on the call abundantly clear by sticking his middle finger up at the umpires. Hardwick let his emotions get the better of him, and paid the price - although Fox Footy is tipped to cough up the $2000 after they played the vision. Speaking on Thursday after the Suns confirmed gun midfielder Matt Rowell will remain at the club until at least 2027, Hardwick showcased his sense of humour. 'Yes, great news, it is a two-year deal,' he confirmed to journalists by cheekily displaying two fingers in an 'up yours' gesture. On Monday night, the vision from the Sydney Showground was played on Fox Footy, and although Hardwick saw the funny side, he instantly knew he was in strife. 'Oh you blokes, you have killed me,' Hardwick told AFL 360's Gerard Whateley and Garry Lyon. 'The finger salute might get me in a bit of trouble.' In April this year, footage emerged of Geelong recruit Bailey Smith in a heated exchange with an Adelaide Crows supporter while walking down the tunnel. In the vision, Smith could be seen reacting to the fan by flashing both middle fingers. Smith later revealed he made the fiery gesture to stick up for his captain Patrick Dangerfield. 'Probably not my best moment. We were just walking off when someone was getting into Danger a bit more than he should have,' he told Channel 7. 'We were in enemy territory and I sort of love that stuff, the back and forth between the fans, but if I had my time again, I probably shouldn't have done the double bird. 'But it's all part of it, there is only so much you can cop. 'I'll expect a fine, but don't talk s**t to the skipper I guess.' The AFL later fined Smith $1500 for making an obscene gesture, which was reduced to $1000 with an early guilty plea.
News.com.au
5 days ago
- Sport
- News.com.au
After being hit with a $2000 fine for giving the bird to the umpires, Damien Hardwick delivered a not-so-subtle response
Gold Coast Suns coach Damien Hardwick concedes he has to 'be better' but found a cheeky, two-fingered way to put his $2000 fine for delivering the bird to umpires in last week's loss to GWS in comedic perspective. Hardwick said he'd pay the fine, which only arose after vision was showed during his appearance on AFL 360 this week, not during the broadcast of the game, and it would be matched by a charitable donation from Fox Footy. But at the start of his weekly press conference on Thursday, Hardwick gave a brief two-fingered salute, reflecting the two-year-deal signed by Suns star Matt Rowell, then quickly turned his fingers around before later declaring 'the AFL and humour, I'm not sure they could be used in the same sentence'. 'Great news it's a two-year deal,' Hardwick said as he vigorously whipped his two fingers up in the air. 'Oh, sh*t, I should turn them around.' After much laughter, Hardwick ploughed on with his excitement at Rowell's extension, knowing the midfield bull had spoken to at least four Victorian clubs, something the Suns are also doing. 'We've got some really exciting players we are talking to that we are really excited at the prospect of coming,' he said. 'It's not something any coach feels overly comfortable about, but we are all big boys.' He said Rowell had shown he believed in the direction the Suns were heading, with a maiden finals berth in sight despite slipping out of the top eight following the loss to the Giants. 'Anytime you are an interstate club and he's a Victorian boy and he's got the overtures at home, it will come calling,' he said. 'What Matt sees, he's very close to the playing group … he can see what this club will eventually become. We've got some work to do, but he sees the possibility of what may be.' That includes an emphasis on goalkicking against Melbourne this week, and more controlled emotions in the coaching box from Hardwick, who said he had to get back to the 'Truman Show mentality' of being on camera all the time. 'I've got to be better, no question about that,' he said. 'I make mistakes in games and every now and then the umpire is going to make a blue. They have a tougher job than me to be perfectly honest. 'They do a pretty good job. Unless you are prepared to put up your hand and do it yourself, just shut up and cop your whack.'
