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GWS becomes an official team
Posted Jul 30, 2010 - 13:25 PM
Greater Western Sydney is has officially been unveiled as an AFL team.
Yesterday, the club, otherwise known and to be marketed as GWS, became the 18th licensed AFL club, having met all the criteria imposed by the AFL Commission.
AFL head honcho Andrew Demetriou on Thursday said there was a formal agreement with the NSW government and the Royal Agricultural Society for a $60 million redevelopment of the club’s home ground, the Sydney Showgrounds.
This week North Hobart local and Hunter-Harrison Medal winner Sam Darley flew to Sydney to join the new team, saying he was pretty excited.
He was selected by GWS as one of the club’s 12 priority 17-year-olds who were too young for this year’s national draft.
Darley is poised to play under legendary former Essendon coach Kevin Sheedy, eventually getting the chance to play alongside rugby league superstar-convert Israel Folau.
NRL star Folau in June signed a 4-year contract with the AFL expansion team in a lucrative contract.
Folau plays rugby league for the Brisbane Broncos and had been the subject of fevered speculation regarding his sporting future and fielded offers from both rugby codes.
“I thought it was the right time to take on a different challenge and coming to this new franchise was the right decision to make for myself and my career,” Folau said last month.
Demetriou said signing the rugby gun was a coup for the Aussie Rules that Folau was an exciting athlete who combined pace, skill, height and power and was prepared to build his reputation and cross over to AFL football in order to return to his home community.
“The location of a team in Israel’s home community is a great attraction to him, and he’s prepared to learn the game to see if he can adapt to Australia’s only indigenous sport,†he said.
Team GWS head honcho Dale Holmes said Folau relates to the people of greater western Sydney, and they relate to him.
