ANDREW Phillips has joined a raft of young Greater Western Sydney players this season in extending his contract and committing to the club.

 

The 23-year-old ruckman has inked a new deal that seals him as a Giant until the end of 2017.

 

The young ruckman from Tasmania, who has played 10 games since 2012 and signed on initially as a rookie, struggled with hamstring issues last year but was largely able to develop in the NEAFL this season.

 

He played one senior game in 2014, in round eight against West Coast.  

 

"The five years I've spent at the Giants have been great. I’ve slotted in really well here and I can see where the Giants are heading and I want to be part of it," Phillips told the club's website. 

 

"It's a really tight knit group here at the Giants.

 

"There's a lot of players re-signing which shows that there are a lot of young players happy here and we're all looking forward to the future.

 

"It's been a frustrating couple of years on the sidelines for me with injuries but the body is coming right now and I'm hoping that in the next couple of years here I can really cement my spot."

 

Phillips is the latest player to sign up with the Giants, after the likes of Jon Patton, Nick Haynes, Josh Kelly and Adam Kennedy committed to them throughout the year.

 

After the recent recruitment of Ryan Griffen and Joel Patfull, Giants' football manager Graeme Allan said Phillips' contract news was another positive.

 

"We made significant progress on the field in 2014 and his re-signing is a great way to start the 2015 pre-season," Allan said.  

 

"Andrew is a talented young ruckman who has had bad luck with injuries over the past two seasons but has a very promising future.

 

"We're building a great club that our players have invested in and they want to commit long term and be part of something special."