Greater Western Sydney have always been different.
They pursued big character Kevin Sheedy, in the twilight of his career, to be their inaugural coach two years after he was sacked by Essendon.
Then they recruited Israel Folau, a rugby league star who had never picked up a Sherrin, to be the face of the club.
And of course, they picked bright orange to be their main colour.
The Giants, seeking to grow a legion of fans in the NRL heartland of working-class western Sydney, have rarely followed the AFL textbook.
So it checks out that their social media is different.
Turn to the Giants’ Instagram, X and TikTok, and the AFL’s youngest club will provide you with quality memes.
Accompanying their rehab reports and team selection news, the club roasts players’ inability to park in between the lines, laments their tribunal run-ins, and longs for former players via a cartoon Wolverine.
“It’s personality,” Jacob Gaynor told AAP.
Gaynor leads content creation for the Giants.
Inspired by how professional American sporting clubs operate, he spends hours scrolling through social media for ideas to take to weekly pitching meetings he calls the “cutting room floor”.
Gaynor arrived at GWS in 2021 after working for AFL NSW/ACT in a similar role and says the club’s social media approach stems from their “disruptor mentality”.
“It took me a little while to understand the market and what was important for the club, but I don’t think I came in and necessarily changed too much,” Gaynor said.
“In western Sydney, it’s a market that the AFL hasn’t really tapped into before, so it’s ‘How can we stand out? What can we do a little bit differently to get all eyes on us?’
“My mission is, I want the Giants to be the most talked-about football club in Australia, so I can do that through social media and that’s what I’ve tried to do.”
There are more than 2.7 million people in western Sydney, according to the most recent census in 2021.
More than 40 per cent of the population are immigrants, and 18 per cent arrived in Australia within five years before 2021.
Almost half of the population speak a language other than English at home. Almost 10 per cent don’t speak English at all.
It means some locals aren’t aware of the AFL’s existence, let alone GWS.
For all of NSW, there are 56,000 registered participants across community football in 2024.
Complicating the Giants’ challenge is the fact they are geographically surrounded by rugby league teams Parramatta, Canterbury, Wests Tigers and three-time premiership winners Penrith – all boasting rusted-on supporters.
“Not to single anyone out, but Collingwood or Hawthorn, they’re in that market where their success will resonate,” Gaynor said.
“Whereas for us, success definitely has its place, but you need to stand out and do things differently because you might have successful NRL clubs in the same area.
“Let’s say the (Canterbury) Bulldogs are going well, then no eyes are on us.”
Memes have helped attract eyeballs to the Giants, whose social media and membership numbers are both growing.
Closing in on the 35,000 milestone in the membership department, the club has grown to boast a collective following of more than 305,000 across its three major social media platforms.
In comparison, their more established cross-town rivals the Sydney Swans have more than 497,000 followers.
The Giants gained more than 10,000 new followers between January and April this year, more than any other club. They also set a membership record of 33,257 in April.
“We get a lot of comments all the time that a fan might not necessarily follow our club, but they follow us for social media,” Gaynor said.
“For a long time, clubs used social media as just a news resource. It’s a rehab report or a match report, whereas it could be so much more.
“We’re a little bit cheeky and say things that (other) clubs probably wouldn’t say.
“We’re at a point now where it’s almost expected of us. If it doesn’t involve the Giants, we still have something to say.”
The contrast with the Swans’ approach has been stark, especially this year, and looms as a subplot in Saturday’s derby final at the SCG.
Swans chief executive Tom Harley said in July that Giants captain Toby Greene parodying a video of a dejected Isaac Heeney, ruled out of Brownlow contention, was “low-brow”.
But the Giants have yet to taunt their rivals on social media ahead of this weekend’s qualifying final.
“It all stems from just wanting to grow the game in NSW,” Gaynor said.
“We’re not always aligned and always agree on the best way to do that – I think both clubs have different strategies that work for them.
“You’re always going to have people that don’t agree with what you’re doing, and that’s fine.
“I’m happy to explain to people why we do what we do.”
Wearing a wry smile, Gaynor adds: “But, yeah, I don’t think we directly go out to antagonise other clubs at all.”
