It’s not often you get to witness a sporting club develop a deep and positive connection with fans from another city or regional town. 

There’s no denying however that the GIANTS Netball franchise and the city of Orange have formed a powerful bond over the last year. 

While this makes sense from a uniform-perspective with the GIANTS primary colour being orange, this newfound positive relationship however goes beyond a simple fashion standpoint.

With the GIANTS Netball squad coming to Orange last weekend for its second year of pre-season preparations, this bond between the club and the Colour City has only strengthened. 

It was in response to last year's impressive sell-out crowd that the GIANTS made the three-and-a-half-hour journey over the Blue Mountains to the Central Tablelands. 

But this time, it was two pre-season games between the GIANTS and the Adelaide Thunderbirds that were on offer for the Orange community. The double-header treat attracted more of the city’s netball fans and participants, but most importantly, it effectively brought new fans to the sport. 

In addition, the 2021 minor premiers also ran a clinic for local netball participants, an event that proved highly successful in drawing interest from numerous young netballers throughout the Orange area. Orange’s Annie Miller, a former GIANTS Netball youth product, also served as an inspiration for many young local girls to get involved in the clinic.

Regional Performance and Pathways Manager for Netball NSW, Mardi Aplin, hopes these two successful visits from the GIANTS continue. 

“Ever since the GIANTS visited Orange last year, there has been nothing but success along the way. 

“This year’s visit has been more successful with the clinic and two games. All of this has created fans for life, and its impact is evident with the high number of young girls that have come to these events wearing GIANTS gear,” Mardi said.

With the GIANTS eventually having two defeats against the Adelaide Thunderbirds, this didn’t dampen the mood and crowd support inside the Sir Neville Howse Stadium with the Orange crowd still vocal every time a GIANTS goal-shooter scored.

While various local parents walked their children to the GIANTS merchandise stands, several young girls were in the crowd trying to emulate some of the netball moves performed by their idols on the court. These actions highlighted Orange’s passion for netball with the GIANTS coming to town taking local netball to another level. 

GIANTS captain (and England international player) Jo Harten reinforced this theme saying: “It’s great to be back in Orange; we love coming here. The clinic also showed that there is tremendous netball participation in the town, proving Orange loves its netball. Overall, it was great to see the community support for both games,” Harten said to the crowd after Game Two. 

As it stands, this young netball club is emerging as one of the favourites to break the NSW Swifts hegemony in the National competition coming tantalisingly close in last year’s Super Netball big game with the GIANTS are also gaining popularity along the way, especially here in Orange. 

Despite missing out on last season’s top prize, the GIANTS have signed some key reinforcements during the off-season. 

Among these signings, the Western Sydney side now possesses a new defensive weapon whom the Orange fans were able to witness in action during the two local games in former NSW Swifts star Lauren Moore.

The new defensive leader, and 2021 Super Netball champion, spoke with Orange City Life about the Orange trip and the upcoming Suncorp Super Netball season. 

“It’s great to be playing netball in a lovely town like Orange. The experience with the fans has been enjoyable, especially after hard times with COVID. This season's goal is to get as far as possible, hopefully for silverware. Having just arrived from the NSW Swifts, my new team and I are ready to take this season on,” Moore said.  

It seems that the GIANTS Netball team have found their second home with the relationship between the GIANTS and Orange fans now stronger than ever.

Following the success of last week’s visit, we can hopefully expect more regular GIANTS Netball appearances in the Colour City for some time to come.

ends