GIANTS returning home

Article from www.gwsgiants.com.au

Six GWS GIANTS players will head home to Southern NSW this weekend when the Greater Western Sydney GIANTS take on North Melbourne in their second ever NAB Challenge match at Lavington Sports Ground on Saturday March 5 at 7pm.

Mark Whiley, Tim Segrave, Anthony Miles, Sam Schulz, Kurt Aylett and Jacob Townsend are all excited to head back to the border to play as GIANTS in front of their family and friends.

GIANTS reporter, Bec Mills caught up with Sam Schulz and Anthony Miles ahead of Saturday’s match to see how the players were feeling about heading home on the weekend.

So guys, tell me a little bit about where you’re from.

Schulz: “I’m from Culcain, which is about 35 minutes from Albury. I went to Culcain Public School then when I went to High School I went to Saint Pauls in Walla.”

Miles: “I’m from Howlong, which is about 25 minutes from Albury. I went to primary school at Howlong Public School and I went to high school at Albury High.”

How are you feeling about heading home as a GIANT this weekend?

Schulz: “We found out a couple of months ago that we might be heading back to Albury for a match so I’ve been looking forward to it for a while, it will be so good to play in front of family and friends.”

Miles: “We’ve probably known for a couple of months that we were a chance to play in Albury so it’s been a big build up. I’m really looking forward to seeing the family, I’ve been sidelined with a foot injury for the last couple of weeks but hopefully I can play on the weekend.”

Are many of your family and friends coming to watch?

Schulz: “There’s been a lot of interest from everyone I know about this game. I missed out on the NAB Cup so the people back home haven’t had a chance to watch me play.
“It’s the first time they will see me as an AFL footballer, so it’s really big for me and for my family and friends as well.”

Miles: “Like Sam, all my family is coming to watch; mum and dad, my two brothers and all of his family and heaps of my friends are coming to watch as well. There’s a lot of interest about the game back at home, not just about us but also about the side in general.

“Everyone was pretty interested in the NAB Cup at home and now we get to back it up with this game. It’s been five or six years since they’ve had an AFL game in Albury so everyone’s looking forward to it.”

There are obviously a few players from Southern NSW on the team and you’ve also got two top-up players from the area playing on Saturday, Dan Leslie and Chaz Sargeant, do you know them?

Schulz: “I’ve played with Mark Whiley, Kurt Aylett, Timmy Segrave and Chaz before. Milesy and I have been playing together since we were 10 or 11, we grew up playing on the same side or against each other.”

Miles: “I’ve played footy with Chaz and Dan is from my home club. He was my captain in my first senior game so I really respect Dan and have looked up to him for a long time. I sent him a message on Facebook when I found out he’d be playing with us this weekend and I’ll probably give him a call a bit later in the week.”

Who was better out of the two of you when you were younger?

Schulz: (Laughs) “I think he had me early on and Milesy might still be just a little bit better now.”

Miles: “No, not at all, we’re pretty even. We’ve always been the same height, even when we were playing junior footy. They had the number order for team photos and we were always 10 and 11 and kept swapping every year.”

Schulz: “I’m pretty happy to say that I’ve got him now by a couple of centimeters.”

Miles: “No you don’t.”

You are off to schools in Albury on Friday as part of the Telstra Community Camp visits, how are you feeling about that?

Schulz: “We’re going to my Primary School, I’ve got a couple of cousins down there that I’m looking forward to seeing. I think they’re pretty excited to meet a few of the boys.”

Miles: “The schools are wrapped to get some players in to meet the kids. Even when we have had AFL games in Albury, teams don’t usually get down there a bit earlier and go into the schools.”

What are your thoughts on playing North Melbourne at Lavington on Saturday?

Miles: “We’re pretty excited. Any opportunity that we get to test ourselves against an AFL side is a good one.

“I think everyone took a lot out of last weeks loss to Carlton, obviously I didn’t play but we’ve learnt a lot from each game that we’ve played.

“Hopefully we can show the people of Australia that we are a young team coming through and that we’ve got a lot of young talent that can pose a threat to other AFL clubs in the future.”

The GIANTS will train at Lavington Sports Ground from 4pm this Friday and players will be available to sign autographs from 5pm.

All GIANTS Foundation Members will receive FREE entry into Saturday’s match. If you are a GIANTS Foundation Member who is coming along this weekend but have not received your membership card yet, email membership@gwsgiants.com.au and we will leave a ticket aside for you at the gate.

Come down and join in the GIANTS FREE AFL SuperClinic at the ground and have fun in the GIANTS kids zone from 4pm on Saturday.

Tickets can be purchased from www.alburycity.nsw.gov.au or on the night of the match.

GWS GIANTS v North Melbourne

When: Saturday, March 5

Where: Lavington Sports Ground

Time: 7pm

Clinic Starts: 4.30pm