WHEN THE Giants met St Kilda in an elimination final at the MCG, Adam* sat in the corner of an eastern Sydney pub elated and cheering at a muted TV in the corner.
Living miles away from the GWS stronghold in Sydney's west, he was the only Giants fan in the room, watching his team progress to a semi-final to the backing track of an rugby league game on the other TV in the room.
Six months later and a few clicks up the road, Adam was flanked by several raucous fellow GWS fans last Saturday and though his team lost to Essendon, the volume was well and truly up.
"It is frustrating when you don't have a game in Sydney for two months or so," said Adam, who's been a GWS member since 2013.
"This initiative has definitely helped in keeping that fan community alive in their absence. Having options as well is so rare; to have options to have it loud and live is great."
The Commercial Hotel is the latest in a growing spate of 'watch venues' for the GIANTS across the west of Western Sydney, a leave-behind of the They Might Become Giants podcast.
The podcast's hosts, Alex Williams and Brendan McClelland, have been hosting the events, with the intent of driving more of a community at watch venues and continue building fandom while the team is out of town.
Giving away Giants merchandise and partnering with hotel groups to ensure spaces dedicated to fans who want to watch matches – with the sound on – has created a growing community of committed attendees, including Adam.
"Brandon and Alex are great but it's more about the opportunity to meet more people within this growing community was the rare offering which has been really enjoyable," he said.
Unlike the suburb-driven teams in Melbourne, Greater Western Sydney's geographic reach spans an area of 9000 square kilometers, almost the same size as the entirety of Melbourne.
While the team is enjoying a record year of membership numbers, the lack of density in specific suburbs for these fans makes coming together to enjoy away games a task. One often involving a maze of ferries, trains and buses.
Ensuring that there's a feed, footy with the sound up and an ear sympathetic to calls of 'baaaaaall' at the end of that trip has historically been harder than those in southern states could know.
Ben Waters, a Sydney-based publican and the general manager of the Hudson Hotel, was on hand at one of these first watch parties at his venue in Seven Hills, more than 11km north-west of last Saturday's pub in Parramatta.
"It's traditionally been the other codes, NRL and soccer that have dominated the screens so it's nice that people know they can come to a venue and they have an area dedicated to what they want to watch," Waters said.
"We really want to grow the fan base and give them somewhere to own as supporters where they know that any time the game is on, it's live and that there's likeminded people that they can watch the game with.
"It's a great feel when you've got the guys from the podcast and supporters with gear on. It's a totally different atmosphere for us."
Waters has noticed the take up of AFL engagement in the area in the years since the Giants' 2012 inauguration.
"AFL used to exist in an enclave in Sydney's eastern and northern suburbs and the inner west, and now it's becoming more regular, getting those big screen opportunities out west, just because they have that local club to support.
"That derby of us versus them in the city has also given it another dimension that's lifted up the noise out here."
Given noise is exactly what the GWS fanbase has been deprived of for so many years, Waters is more than happy to provide the space for the Giants army to turn up the volume.
"It's not fun watching a game with no sound," Waters says.
"Especially with the AFL crowds, because of the size of them, you can hear them on the grounds through the commentary.
"Live and loud – that's the way you want it."
*Name has been altered at the request of the interviewee
