Sure, you could say a fair portion of the crowd will be there to see the Geelong Cats, a traditional Victorian club with a huge supporter base and one of the most successful of the modern era.

But the Giants should also get a fair slice of the credit for making a dent in the Canberra sporting psyche in their four-year existence.

Plenty of eyebrows were raised in 2010 when the ACT Government signed a 10-year, $23 million deal with the AFL to have the Giants play three premiership games and a pre-season match in Canberra every year.

At that point, Canberra's relationship with the AFL was rocky at best.

The public was still hurting from the broken promises made by North Melbourne, romancing the ACT one week before jumping into bed with Tasmania the next.

Yes, there was the occasional one-off game featuring a low-drawing Melbourne side such as the Kangaroos or the Western Bulldogs up against the popular Sydney Swans, but that did nothing to satisfy our thirst for the game.

You only need to talk to a handful of punters at a local footy game on a weekend before someone brings up the time the ACT beat the heavyweights of the VFL. Those were the glory days.

While the local competition is now a shadow of its former self - the haphazard experiment with the North East Australian Football League not helping matters - the rise of the Giants is helping to boost popularity among the masses.

Having Belconnen Cats junior Jack Steele in the team - the first graduate of the Giants Academy - is a boost to the club's profile.

But it's the little things that have helped the Giants win support. Take Friday, for example.

Less than 24 hours before they took on Geelong, the Giants opened their training session at Manuka Oval to the public.

Any scouts from the Cats would be able to file in and check out the opposition, seeing if there would be any positional changes or if anyone was carrying an injury.

But it also gave fans a chance to engage with their team, and kids the opportunity to see their heroes up close.

After struggling for results in their first three seasons, the Giants' list of emerging youngsters combined with shrewd experienced acquisitions are on the precipice of their maiden finals appearance.

You can only imagine the crowds will continue to grow as results improve. Crowds to their premiership games in Canberra over their past three seasons have been steady.

They averaged 8431 in 2012, 8352 in 2013 and 8208 per game last year. Their biggest crowd of 11,092 for their match against St Kilda in 2013 is likely to be eclipsed on Saturday.

Whether it goes close to the record crowd of an AFL match at Manuka Oval, involving the Kangaroos and Swans in 2006 of 14,922, remains to be seen with the new ground configuration.

The Giants have an average crowd of 7864 for their two games this year in Canberra after wins against Melbourne and the Gold Coast Suns. On those figures, NRL side the Canberra Raiders are still well ahead.

The Raiders have an average crowd this year of 9668 per game, even taking into account the brave 6015 who fronted up for the Friday night frozen bowl with the Knights.

You could argue the point that the Giants have more support in Canberra than they do in western Sydney.

Their average crowd this year at Spotless Stadium at Sydney Olympic Park is 9824, which was boosted by the 13,556 who watched their game against defending premiers Hawthorn.

Here's a question - if the Giants hosted a finals game, where should it be played? On the surface, the answer is simple. It has to be at Spotless Stadium. That's where the club is based and gives them exposure into the booming western Sydney region.

But if you're talking in general terms of which venue would draw the bigger crowd, Manuka Oval would have a pretty strong case.

Gradual increases to Manuka Oval's capacity to around 17,000 or 18,000 in the next few years will keep that discussion bubbling along.

Already there has been talk that the ACT Government could look to bring a fourth premiership game to Canberra each year, providing the demand is there.

The Giants are only required to play seven games in Sydney per season, leaving the door open to increase their quota in Canberra.

It's up to the Giants to keep winning to keep bringing the crowds through the gate and building their legacy in the national capital.