The Giants, AFL and ACT government are on the precipice of a new deal to continue their long-term partnership after the original contract expired last weekend.

The new arrangement is set to include a similar level of content, with two AFLW fixtures expected to be added to three men's premiership matches.

Giants assistant coach Mark McVeigh said playing in Canberra was "highly valuable", insisting the club could build an even stronger relationship with the capital.

"It's huge and we spoke about it during the week in the build up towards this game," McVeigh said after GWS' final game of the season at Manuka Oval on Saturday, before new head coach Adam Kingsley was confirmed Monday.

"This fixture is highly valuable to us. We want to make it stronger and the club's pretty dedicated to do that as well as the players."

The Giants went down by 20 points to finals-bound Fremantle on the weekend, as GWS finished third-last on the ladder, ending a sorry and turbulent season for the men in orange and black.

But there to watch them in Canberra was yet another healthy crowd that surpassed the season average of the Giants' attendance at their Sydney home ground. And this year four of their five lowest-ever crowds were back in Sydney.

It's not something that goes unnoticed by the players either, many of whom stayed back over an hour after the final siren, signing autographs and taking pictures with fans at Manuka Oval.

"It's been a place we've thoroughly enjoyed coming down to," Giants veteran Stephen Coniglio said.

"It was definitely disappointing we couldn't get a win for the fans, but we love being here in Canberra and look forward to coming down again next year."

MORE GIANTS NEWS

In the past the Giants were unbeatable at Manuka Oval, with a nine-game undefeated streak between 2016-2018 a highlight. Seven-straight losses since August 2019 tarnished that record in Canberra, but McVeigh aims to turn that around in the coming years.

"We'd like to make this a bit of a fortress going forward, and it was a few years ago," the coach said. "It's really important to us.

"We've got really good fans here that have got total buy-in. Not only from your everyday family, but some really key personnel and sponsors at our footy club and I was able to catch up with them at dinner, and it was really great to hear their feedback about how the club's going. So they're highly valuable to us."

In what has been a forgettable season for the Giants, McVeigh - who stepped up after Leon Cameron's exit in May - believes the future is bright, denying that they are entering a 'rebuild' phase.

"I think it's a reset," he said.

"There's high quality there. There will be some changes, we know that, whether it's game-plan, whether it's personnel, but there's enough quality there to be able to challenge for a final series again next year."

Coniglio agreed, and revealed they only had 26 players to choose from for their last game, highlighting how badly the squad has been impacted by injury.

One of the biggest success stories of the year though is "phenomenal" defender Sam Taylor. The 1.96 metre-tall 23-year-old is in the frame for All-Australian selection and had another standout performance against Fremantle.

"I hope they don't overlook him for his sake," Coniglio said. "If he played for a Victorian club there wouldn't even be any question. He deserves all the accolades he gets.

"He'll probably win our best and fairest this year and hopefully get that All Australian jacket. He's still so young and can get even better, and he's already at the top of the tree."

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: