A 'Big Big Sound' built on community: 17 seasons with the GIANTS
Introduction
Seventeen seasons is a long time in football.
Players come and go. Coaches change. Boards evolve. Clubs rise, fall and rise again. Yet some partnerships endure because they are built on something much deeper than logos on guernseys or hospitality on game day.
In 2026, Yarmouth Group celebrates its 17th consecutive season as a commercial partner of the GIANTS.
Looking back, it's remarkable to think it all started with a conversation at Blacktown International Sportspark in August 2010 with former Australian Test cricketer Gavin Robertson. At that stage, the club wasn't even called the GIANTS in the way we know it today. It was simply "Team GWS", a bold AFL start-up with enormous ambition, very few resources and an even bigger challenge.
What attracted me wasn't simply football.
It was the opportunity to help build something that could genuinely make a difference to the communities of Western Sydney.
Believing before anyone else
When Yarmouth committed to becoming a Foundation Corporate Partner in 2010, there were no AFL victories to celebrate, no finals appearances and certainly no Grand Final memories.
There was simply belief.
The club trained on a baseball field at Blacktown. Staff worked out of spare offices at Rooty Hill RSL. The team consisted mainly of skinny teenagers trying to establish themselves against more seasoned opponents.
Many people questioned whether Australian Rules football could ever succeed in Western Sydney.
Fortunately, the people leading the club never doubted the vision.
Kevin Sheedy saw an opportunity to build something unique. Gavin Robertson passionately sold that vision to anyone prepared to listen. Tony Shepherd brought outstanding corporate leadership and connections, while staff members like the Lamberts, quietly worked behind the scenes to build a community football club from the ground up.
For me, becoming involved wasn't simply a sponsorship decision. It was about backing great people and believing in an inspiring vision.
More than a player sponsorship
One of the decisions I'm most proud of was becoming the inaugural player sponsor of Jeremy Cameron.
At the time, Jezza was a talented teenager from country Victoria with enormous potential.
Like many country kids, he simply needed opportunity, good people around him and time to develop.
Watching him evolve from a 17-year-old prospect into the club's first All Australian, Coleman Medallist and one of the AFL's elite forwards remains one of the great privileges of our association with the club.
Today, it's exciting to continue that tradition by supporting another emerging young GIANT, Oskar Taylor.
Player sponsorship has never been about marketing. It's about investing in people.
Community always came first
One of the reasons Yarmouth has remained with the GIANTS for 17 seasons is because our values have always aligned.
Yes, football matters.
Winning matters.
But what has always impressed me most is the club's genuine commitment to community.
Western Sydney is one of Australia's fastest-growing and most culturally diverse regions. That diversity requires leadership and kindness.
The GIANTS have become much more than an AFL club.
They've become a vehicle for introducing Australian Rules football to new communities, encouraging participation across multicultural backgrounds, supporting women's elite sport through the AFLW and GIANTS Netball programs, and providing young people with opportunities through the GIANTS Foundation.
Those outcomes matter. Every young person from Western Sydney who discovers confidence through community sport represents a success story far greater than four premiership points on a Saturday afternoon.
Seventeen seasons of growth
Looking back across the journey, there have been some remarkable milestones.
2010 – Meeting Gavin Robertson at Blacktown and committing as a Foundation Corporate Partner of Team GWS during season 2010.
2012 – The GIANTS officially enter the AFL competition.
2013 – Jeremy Cameron becomes the club's first All Australian.
2016 – The GIANTS qualify for their first AFL Finals Series.
2019 – The club reaches its first AFL Grand Final.
2026 – Yarmouth celebrates 17 consecutive seasons supporting the GIANTS and sponsoring emerging talent Oskar Taylor.
Every one of those milestones reflects years of persistence rather than overnight success.
Why we've stayed
Corporate sponsorship can often become transactional.
Companies come and go depending on budgets, economic cycles or changing marketing priorities.
For Yarmouth, the GIANTS have never simply been another sponsorship.
We've stayed because we've always admired how the club conducts itself.
Its culture remains one of its greatest strengths.
Professional
Inclusive
Resilient
Authentic
Community-focussed
Those values have remained remarkably consistent despite the inevitable changes that occur at a football club over nearly two decades of professional sport.
When people ask why we've continued supporting the club for 17 seasons, the answer is straightforward.
Because the organisation has stayed true to the values that attracted us in the first place.
To build a great house you need a really high-quality foundation on which to construct the dwelling. The GIANTS are building a great house!
Looking forward
As the famous "Big Big Sound" continues to echo around the AFL, it's rewarding to reflect on just how far this football club has come.
What began as a bold experiment has become one of the AFL's strongest football organisations, regularly competing in finals while representing millions of people across Western Sydney, Canberra and regional New South Wales.
Yarmouth has only played a very small part in that journey.
The real credit belongs to the players, parents, coaches, board, staff, volunteers, members and supporters who have built this club from the ground up over the past 17 seasons.
For us however, it has been a privilege to stand alongside the GIANTS from the very beginning.
Here's to continuing the journey.
Go GIANTS.
#BigBigSound
Thanks to our current commercial team who make it so easy and such a pleasure to support the GIANTS: Alex Stanley, Amanda Matthews, Luke Morgan and Darcy Carnahan.
Special thanks to Dave Matthews, our outgoing GIANTS CEO for his unwavering support of the GIANTS and of Yarmouth.
Credit to GIANTS player Leek Aleer for always being open for a photo and for the great cover pic! Thanks Leek!
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https://www.andrewsmcneil.com/
https://www.yarmouthgroup.com/
https://www.gwsgiants.com.au/news/99122/support-the-giants-back-to-school-appeal
https://www.gwsgiants.com.au/news/232487/player-partners-perfect-10-as-cameron-reaches-150
https://www.gwsgiants.com.au/video/352891/andrew-mcneil-wishes-luck-to-the-giants