GIANT Central West tour ahead

The Greater Western Sydney GIANTS will be touring the Central West later this month to find the area’s first professional AFL player.

The GIANTS are determined to unearth the first superstar from the Central West on this trip, and as such, will be holding a number of AFL Combines in a week-long tour starting on July 31 in Bathurst.

AFL Combines are an athlete assessment program open to boys from any sport aged 12 to 18. They are designed to test skills, athleticism and attitude of aspiring sports professionals.

Brownlow medallist Paul Kelly and GWS GIANTS Academy coach Lachlan Buszard will be identifying, training and nurturing locals to join the club’s Academy while on the tour – enhancing their prospects of being drafted.

GWS coach Kevin Sheedy is also going to make an appearance later in the week as he individually scours the state and territory to find supporters, players and members for the AFL’s 18th club.

“The GWS GIANTS will be touring the Central West from July 31 to August 5 to find the first professional AFL star from the region,” Sheedy said.

“While I’ll only be able to make the latter part of the trip, I am sending my number one AFL recruiters Paul Kelly and Lachlan Buszard to discover the star athletes who may play for the club in the near future.

“As a club, we’re determined to provide every NSW boy with a chance to play for the GIANTS. So I encourage everyone from all sports to attend the AFL Combines being held in your town during our visit.

“No matter your skill level, or whether you’ve played AFL before or not, come along and show off your athletic ability.”

While on the trip, the GIANTS will be visiting Bathurst, Young, Parkes, Forbes, Cowra and Orange where they’ll be running coaching sessions, Auskick clinics, visiting schools, meeting with council, and of course, searching for elite athletes at a number of AFL Combines (listed below).   

“We want to make the GIANTS the biggest and best community club in Australia, so whether it’s on this tour or in the future, there will be a number of opportunities for locals to get involved with the GIANTS,” Sheedy said.

“The tour will see the GIANTS engage over 5000 kids and meet with our fans.

“We’re confident we’ll find the regions first AFL star, so I encourage all aspiring professional athletes to come along and trial for a place in the GIANTS Academy. Let the search begin.”

The Central West is zoned to the GIANTS which means all talented players will be given an opportunity to join the club’s Academy before being eligible for the draft when they turn 18-years-old.

All kids are encouraged to attend the AFL Combines.

Central West AFL Combines – free athletic assessment open to boys aged 12 to 18 from all sports:
Monday, August 1: Young High School 4pm-6pm, run by Paul Kelly and Lachlan Buszard
Tuesday, August 2: North Parkes Oval 4pm-6pm, run by Lachlan Buszard
Tuesday, August 2: Cowra High School 4pm-6pm, run by Paul Kelly and Brett Somerville
Wednesday, August 3: Orange High School 4pm-6pm run by Lachlan Buszard and Stuart Edge
Thursday August 4: George Park, Bathurst 4pm-6pm run by Kevin Sheedy and Lachlan Buszard