Geelong West want to take the leap from developing to delivering.

By Ben Andonoudis

The Geelong West Giants have built a strong foundation off-field.

Now, the club's GFNL section is starting to see improvements on field, as the Giants push for Geelong League senior Men's football finals for the first time since their merger in 2017.

Impressive performances against Colac and Leopold were signs of a team on the rise despite falling short of the four points on both occasions.

Round three saw the Giants breakthrough for a 13-point win over St Albans, which was backed up last week with a 75-point victory over North Shore.

Now the club is focused on turning those improvements into consistency.

Director of GFNL football and former senior captain, Tony Costa has felt the vibe around the club and knows that there are positive signs.

“From a club perspective, we're happy with the growth we're seeing in our young group at the start of the year”, he said.

In a league where experience typically defines contenders, the Giants’ average age of just over 20 gives the club optimism.

There are three clear metrics the playing group is working towards this season: training standards, fitness, and personal accountability.

Early signs suggest they're translating.

“We've started the year extremely fit and strong”, Costa believes.

This year shapes as a step forward towards the higher rungs of the ladder. A ninth-place finish last year instilled belief the group is now building on.

“We'd love to be fighting for that 5th spot putting ourselves in a position to play finals football because it's been a very long time”, Costa said.

“That next band, in the GFNL, that 5 through to 8 is really tightly held”.

For Costa, sustaining those standards over time will deliver sustained success.

As a club formed by a merger between two historic clubs in Geelong West St Peters and Geelong West Sporting Club, the Giants have an extensive history that is helping shape it's identity post-merger.

“Our past players come from quite a number of clubs and so when you talk about community," Costa explains.

"It's not just a linear line, there's a number of clubs that have come together to create what this is today."

An important aspect of any club is the need to develop juniors and players who will sustain the club long-term.

It's something that the Giants value highly, with now 20 junior teams across netball and football in the GFNL program.

“One of the opportunities that we see within our club is how we develop our juniors and really create a pathway for them into different areas of the club”, Costa said.

Looking to the future, Costa and the club are keen to see the club continue to develop.

“We're quite excited about what this next part of the journey looks like for our football club."