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Sport Nation
In-stadium commentary at Mt SmartRussell: Why Giants should relocate permanently to Canberra
SEN • May 23rd, 2025 4:30 pm
Is it time for GWS to make a permanent move to Canberra?
SEN host Dwayne Russell thinks now is the time for the club to shift to the nation’s capital.
In 2025, the Giants play three home games at Manuka Oval and eight at ENGIE Stadium, but Russell thinks that split should be flipped.
While the AFL no doubt want to grow in Western Sydney, an area with a population of more than 2 million, Russell simply thinks the Giants aren’t working out as planned in the rugby league-dominated region with crowd sizes still below par.
“Are the Giants working or not? As Kane said, they might be in for a rough 10 years if they can't get a flag in this little period that they're in right now,” Russell told SEN Afternoons.
“They still can't pull a decent crowd in Greater Western Sydney. Right now, the Giants are the Greater Western Sydney Giants.
“They play 4 games in Canberra, and they play the rest of their games at ENGIE Stadium.
“They’re not called ‘Canberra’, but they play 4 of their games in Canberra, and the rest of them in Greater Western Sydney.
“Wouldn't it be better for their long-term advantage to flip it? Call them Canberra, put them in Canberra, have them play eight games there and another four at ENGIE Stadium.”
While Russell wants the Giants to move to Canberra and adopt the capital’s name, he thinks the team can still ‘own Western Sydney’ by playing multiple games at ENGIE Stadium each year.
“They're still playing football in Western Sydney. They are still the team that can recruit from that zone of Western Sydney. They still own Western Sydney. But they pull crowds in Canberra,” Russell said.
“I reckon they AFL have got the 8-4 split wrong, I reckon they should split it the other way.
“I would even play nine games in Canberra and three in Western Sydney.
“Let's face it, their grounds are often slippery and hardly available anyway because of the show and the cut turf, and they don't pull the crowds.”
GWS attracted a crowd of 12,234 to Manuka Oval, a stadium with a 13,550 capacity, in their last game there in April against the Western Bulldogs.
8,092 attended the Giants’ latest clash at ENGIE Stadium, which came against Fremantle last weekend.
