It was before the first ever centre pass in Suncorp Super Netball that Jo Harten knew the Orange Army was something special.
Now, over seven years later the GIANTS Netball supporter base is bigger, louder and more orange than ever.
And they are one of the captain’s favourite parts of representing her beloved club.
“I still remember being at Netball Central in 2017 handing out individual member packs face-to-face and thinking how committed people were to our club without even having seen us play a single game yet,” Harten recalled ahead of this weekend’s Members Appreciation Round.
“We met 500-1000 members in person across a few days and they’re still the faces turning up in 2023 and for me that just shows how loyal they are to our club.
“Some of them have had children now and they bring the babies along to the games and it’s all grown year-on-year.”
Through finals campaigns, two Grand Final appearances, famous victories and tough seasons like this one has proved to be, the fans in orange have been there every week.
So, what does the skipper love most about the faithful?
“I love that they’re always the loudest people in the room,” Harten laughs.
“We obviously play at Ken Rosewall Arena and that's our home, they show up for us every week, cheer so loudly when we get out on court and they’ve done that since day one.
“They’re pretty special to me and our club.”
Harten says the orange army support the players no matter what and it’s something fan favourite Amy Parmenter echoes.
The founder of The Tie Dye Project, which raises money for children suffering Sarcoma, has felt the warmth of the Orange Army’s love.
“Every time the fans turn up in tie die is always really nice for me and a really big moment,” Parmenter explains.
“So many of our GIANTS members are our number one supporters, some have bought hundreds of pairs of socks. They’re just amazing.
“At our last home game there was a dad and his two daughters and they’d tie dyed their own tops in GIANTS colours. I feel like they’ve really made an effort in that space, it means a lot.
“I love our GIANTS army, they are literally legends.”
The GIANTS will pay tribute to and celebrate their amazing supporters at this Sunday’s final game of the regular season against the Melbourne Vixens at Ken Rosewall Arena.
“The last couple of seasons we haven’t played our last game at home and this obviously isn’t the season that we would have hoped and prayed for,” Harten says.
“We’re going to give absolutely everything to give our fans the win they deserve to watch and witness and we hope it’s going to be a cracking turn out for our last game.
“I’m so glad it’s at KRA because it’s a great place to play netball and we owe it to our fans and members to put on a show for one last time in 2023.”
Written by sports journalist and GIANTS Netball ambassador, Megan Hustwaite.
