GREATER Western Sydney can grow to become one of Australian sport's biggest clubs, according to AFL Commission chairman Mike Fitzpatrick.

On Saturday, the Giants play their first final since joining the AFL in 2012, taking on crosstown rivals the Sydney Swans in a game Fitzpatrick says will long be remembered as a landmark game.

However he told ABC Grandstand that regardless of Saturday's result the club's potential to tap into a huge pool of supporters and participants will see them, in time, generate elite talent from their local areas. 

"My personal view is the Giants can become a very big football side," Fitzpatrick said.

"I think they can become a very big team and a very big club."

Fitzpatrick said the Giants represented both Western Sydney and Canberra and as they became more successful on-field and created deeper links with their community further growth would occur.

He said the Canberra region had been instrumental in helping the Giants get up and running and the club now covered a broad geographical region.

"The Giants is Greater Western Sydney and Canberra. I don't think you can separate the two," Fitzpatrick said.

He admitted that the AFL made some errors in executing the plan to build a club from scratch but on balance most of its decisions have proved right.

He said starting the Giants now would be much harder given the National Rugby League was a stronger competitor in 2016 than it had been when the Giants was being planned.  

The chairman also said the introduction of the two expansion clubs had been a significant factor in the AFL's ability to negotiate such a good broadcasting deal.

Fitzpatrick also said recruiting rugby league star Israel Folau had been a successful decision.

"Israel did a great job for us and a great job for Australian Rules footy … he helped put us on the map in the first place," Fitzpatrick said.

He said he had moved passed any misgivings he originally had about Lance Franklin going to the Sydney Swans rather than the Giants, but admitted that recruiting move had spelt the death knell for the northern club's cost of living allowance.