A History of the Giants

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Originally founded as the Dulwich Dragons the club has competed in the AFL London league since 2007. 2012 saw the start of an affiliation with the Greater Western Sydney Giants to become the South East London Giants.

 

In 2012 the Giants fielded just one team who competed in the Conference division. That season was a tough one for the club with a struggle for numbers on the field and financial pressures leaving it on the verge of being dissolved by the end of the season.

 

That changed in the early months of 2013 with a complete reorganisation and reboot under new management and a massive push for new recruitment including reaching out to get new players involved who had never heard of the sport before, let alone played it. The first preseason training of 2013 saw just six people down at Victoria Park in East London to train in the snow. With a hesitant approval from AFL London, the Giants were given a second chance, this time only competing in the Social division of the league. This season forced the other clubs in the league to reassess the Giants as win followed win and we missed out on a place in the finals by percentage, whilst membership numbers hit a level they had never reached previously.

 

2014 saw the club determined to hit the ground running. A preseason trip to Sweden to take on the Malmo Giants in a friendly contest was swiftly followed by the Giants hosting and reviving the AFL London Pre-season Cup on our home ground, Peckham Rye Common. This was the first time in three years that this special one day contest had taken place and the first time the club had taken on the mammoth duty of arranging such a large event. The day was a roaring success with all but one of the clubs in the league taking part in the contest and the Giants being praised in the press for putting on such a great event. The home and away season then got under way with the Giants starting with 5 consecutive wins, and undefeated by the half way point of the season.

 

Following a successful finals campaign, the Giants qualified for the AFL London Grand Final for the first time in club history, and even received a video message on the eve of the contest from AFL legend and former GWS coach, Kevin Sheedy. The 2014 Grand Final was a hard fought and bitter battle that saw the Giants missing out on the top spot in the final moments of the match by just one point.

 

2015 saw the club make history on multiple fronts with the unveiling of our new custom made playing kit, fielding men’s teams in both the Social and Conference divisions and by being a founding member of the new AFL London Women’s league, taking Aussie Rules to a wider audience and swelling our member numbers to an all time high. 

 

The Women's team along with the club grew strongly over the next 2 years with the men moving up to the Premiership division and the women having an incredibly strong season in 2017 going all the way to the Grand Final.

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We've had a tough few years with the Global pandemic, so with 2022 being our 10th year as the Giants we're dedicated to making it a big one! The emphasise now is to rebuild bigger and stronger than ever and to promote our wonderful sport to as many people as possible. 

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If you're interested in becoming a Giant get in touch today!