The Greater Western Sydney Giants have held off a number of Melbourne-based clubs to re-sign seven promising youngsters.
Kevin Sheedy says the Giants have enough salary cap room to entice more players to Western Sydney.
Jonathon Patton kicks for a goal against Sydney. Source: Getty Images
THE Giants have locked away another seven of their best young players and kept the Melbourne clubs at bay.
Labelling them their "Magnificent Seven", the Giants now have the core of their talent committed to long-term contracts.
Top draft pick Jonathon Patton has signed on until the end of 2015, along with number three and four selections Dom Tyson and Will Hoskin-Elliott, and rookie-listed players Andrew Phillips and Sam Frost.
Curtly Hampton and Aidan Corr have agreed to commit to the club until the end of 2016.
Fourteen months ago Eddie McGuire was threatening to steal every one of the Giants' good players for the rest of his life.
So far neither Collingwood or any of the other teams in the AFL have been able to draw a single player out of Western Sydney.
"We're on the map and on the right track," Giants CEO David Matthews told The Daily Telegraph."It's one thing to draft players, it's another thing to retain them.
"This is a significant piece of the jigsaw which gives confidence to the fans and corporate support.
"It was assumed by a lot of Melbourne clubs that the Giants would struggle to retain these players.
"We've created an environment where these players want to stay. The AFL needs this club to be strong."
With the departure of Israel Folau, the Giants are looking to their teenage talent to provide the headlines in the years to come.
"We need more household names and we need to keep these guys," Matthews said.
"I hope they did compare us to other clubs because that's the biggest endorsement of all.
"Combined with the 13 players who re-signed last year, the Giants now have more than 20 long-term signatures, including all eight of the 2012 Rising Star Nominations.
Yesterday's announcement comes on the back of an impressive performance in the opening round of the NAB Cup, when the Giants led Carlton with 30 seconds to go and beat cross-town rivals the Swans for the first time.
The round-one clash against the premiers at ANZ is beginning to look like a much more competitive affair.
"This time last year we were approaching round one with a bit of trepidation," Matthews said.
"A lot of those doubts have disappeared."
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