Greater Western Sydney officials have outlined the club's desire to bring AFL powerhouses to Canberra as the club moves to shore up it's future in the capital.
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The Giants are edging closer to the end of a 10-year, $23 million partnership with the ACT government and GWS chief operating officer James Avery says "everything points to that partnership continuing".
Avery says the club is nearing a full house for the Giants' clash with the Adelaide Crows at Manuka Oval on Saturday night.
Avery labelled the showdown with the Crows as the latest instalment in the club's commitment to hosting marquee matches in Canberra, with GWS and AFL officials in talks about securing more blockbuster clashes.
Hawthorn, Collingwood, Carlton, Sydney, Essendon, Brisbane, and West Coast are the only clubs yet to play the Giants for premiership points at Manuka Oval, which puts some of the league's biggest clubs in the firing line.
"There’s a strong willingness from both sides to put a new agreement in place given the success of the current agreement on both sides," Avery said.
"We’ll be working with the AFL to try and ensure there is a number of big games in Canberra next year, and we think Canberra and the Giants deserve with the ACT to be staging marquee games in those slots.
"We’re speaking with the AFL about bringing another Friday night or a Thursday night marquee game to the ACT. We obviously secured the first ever Friday night game there last year which was a runaway success.
"Off the back of that and off the back of our success on field and the continued growth in Canberra, we’re keen to have marquee games that are played on the national stage.
"We do like to try and bring some new teams to Canberra to give the footballing public in the ACT and Giants supporters a bit of variety.
"We find that tends to work, and there is deeper benefits to bringing teams from different markets into the ACT, which is something we work closely with the government on.
"All those considerations are being factored into our discussions with the AFL and government as we speak at the moment.
"We haven’t finalised what that mix of teams will look like at the moment, but we like to make sure we have teams that provide a marquee slot, and teams that provide variation in interest for the sporting public in the ACT."
Their fate rests with how the league schedules the ANZAC Day round - if it starts on ANZAC Day eve, a Wednesday, then Melbourne, Richmond, Collingwood and Essendon will have to play earlier in the Easter round.
Canberra is the club's preferred location for marquee Thursday or Friday night games, with the twilight timeslot on Saturdays the best option for the club to capitalise on their Sydney-based fans.
The Giants are aiming to stage two games at Spotless Stadium before the venue is used for the Royal Easter Show next year, which could mean the trend of hosting two early season matches in Canberra experience a shift.
"It’s something we’re really keen on exploring with the AFL. There’s still work to be done in terms of working through the fixture process but it is something we’re talking to the AFL about," Avery said.
The Giants are seven years into their big money deal with the ACT government to play three premiership fixtures and a pre-season match in Canberra per year.
While there is no firm agreement in place, the club is also committed to hosting an AFL Women's match in Canberra each year, as has been the case for competition's first two seasons.
Informal discussions about extending the deal beyond 2021 have taken place and both Avery and Giants chief executive Dave Matthews expect the deal will be renewed, adamant it has been a bigger success than anticipated.
AFL ROUND 21
Saturday: GWS Giants v Adelaide Crows at Manuka Oval, 7.25pm. Tickets available from Ticketek.
