This Sunday, in round six of season 2023, the GIANTS will celebrate their 100th club match.
Back in September 2016, GIANTS Netball was formed. They had a coach, a team of 10, a logo and had just started their social media accounts.
From the get-go the GIANTS have been built on strong foundations.
They had a vision and purpose to provide opportunities for the local talent within New South Wales and provide an entertainment product to showcase the world’s best netballers, and the GIANTS have stayed true to their word.
On Wednesday night, Foundation Members were joined by players and staff from the inaugural team to reflect on the milestone and journey to date.
Reflecting on the journey to 100 games, coach Julie Fitzgerald – who has been coach from the start - said it was emotional.
“I rarely look back, but to hear the girls come up with such special memories brings a lot back,” she said.
GIANT #1 and inaugural captain Kim Green said the milestone is a testament to the foundations laid by Fitzgerald.
“For me, I just think that the GIANTS are always such a dominant team and to think that they’ve been able to get to 100 games is pretty impressive,” she said.
“That first game back in 2017 was pretty special. To see all the fans, to know that we’d done the groundwork and it wasn’t just about turning up and playing.
“There was a lot of discussion in the background of what we wanted GIANTS to look like, what fans we wanted to attract, how we wanted to hold ourselves and to get out there and play our first game was really exciting.”
Green, who played over 200 games in the National League from 2003-2019, played 34 games across three seasons with the GIANTS.
“For me I look at the players that I’ve played with, certainly that team that was the inaugural team of GIANTS was some impressive players and some of the best I’ve played with. I hold it in really high regards.”
Current captain Jo Harten, who was also a member of the 2017 team and remains a member of the GIANTS’ team today, said the past 100 games have gone super-fast.
“It’s gone in a flash, and I can’t quite believe we’re approaching our 100th game,” she said.
Many emotions surrounded the first game and first season. Excitement, pride and a touch of pressure.
“I think there was a sense of pressure that came in the pre-season,” Harten admitted.
‘Returning post-Christmas, we had a strong pre-season and I remember having this feeling that it was going to be a special year, and this was going to be a special club.”
It was Harten who had a strong influence on English Roses teammate Serena Guthrie’s decision to move to Australia to play for the GIANTS.
“It was a little bit of a no brainer, I trust Jo with my life,” Guthrie said.
“It was a chance to play with one of my best mates and then that also went on to a chance to be coached by one of the best coaches I've ever had.
“It was a bit of a risk, but it was pretty much the move of my career. The GIANTS kind of made me the player that I am. It helped me really refine my game and fulfil my potential.”
Guthrie left the GIANTS at the end of the 2018 season and returned home to England, continuing her career with the Roses and at Bath Netball.
“It was so hard to leave the club and I miss it dearly,” she said.
“GIANTS are hands down the best team I’ve been involved with.
“For me the best memory… we had this incredible culture chat and Julie asked us who are we and who do we want to be. I think the best thing about being a GIANT was that we all had input into what we’re seeing today and it’s the first club I’d been at where everyone’s voice was valued. That was a really empowering day.”
Empowerment and opportunity is something that the GIANTS strive to deliver for those that wear the orange and charcoal.
A new opportunity and the challenge to start up a new club is something that Julie Fitzgerald never thought she would get the chance to do, in her already achievement-filled career.
“I never thought I would get the opportunity to coach in Australia again, so it was really fabulous to be able to come back,” Fitzgerald said.
“I think I’ve been lucky to always be a part of good teams, but I think the difference with the GIANTS is that we got to grow it from the start, so we’ve all been a part of something that we’ve built.
“I think the fact that we did have the ability to come together and build something pretty special in a quick period of time is what I’m most proud of.”
The GIANTS, now in their seventh season, have played in four finals campaigns and are beginning to find their form in the current season of Suncorp Super Netball.
Whilst an inaugural premiership and years of success are certainly in the sights, Fitzgerald’s future aspirations continue to reflect the club’s visions set back at the formation of the club.
“I just think we’ll continue to grow and expand. We’ll continue to develop the things we’ve already built and all I’ve ever wanted is for it to be a place with a really good high performance environment that the younger players of the future want to be a part of,” she said.
“I want the GIANTS to be the destination club that every young player in NSW wants to be a part of.”
The GIANTS will bring up their 100th club game this Sunday when they take on the Queensland Firebirds in Brisbane at 2pm.
