Discussion Is GWS a good name?

[wizardwaffle]

The name of the second Sydney side, the Greater Western Sydney Giants, is to long. Can you hear the cheer squad "Greater Wester...." thats to long. "GWS, GWS" doesn't sound like a place where a club is from.

The image of the club hasn't been talked about in glowing terms by marketing and image consultants.

The colours don't say Western Sydney. They look like colours suggested by the AFL, like Purple and Green with Fremantle, because they weren't being used. The Giants nickname has been successful in Australian sport. Rugby's Gold Coast Giants, they're gone. Basketballs North Melbourne Giants, won a few titles but they went as well. Then the Victoria Giants didn't last long.

The second Sydney side has to have an image that is New South Wales. The Swans used the image that they already had. West Coast and Adelaide used the colours of their state's well. So why not use the New South Wales colours of sky blue, royal blue and white. What is in Western Sydney is a recognisable icon, the Blue Mountain Ranges. Using these ideas together I have come up with: the Blue Mountain Ranges.

Here are there uniforms:
Home:
Away:
Clash:

 

[Silent Alarm]

No, it's not.

 

[E92_]

They should drop 'Greater' from their name, Western Sydney Giants would be a lot better IMO and would be less of a mouthful. I'm pretty sure they're going to have a light blue Canberra strip aswell and orange and charcoal are a pretty good colour combination if used correctly.

And the Freo part, (correct me if I'm wrong) I'm pretty sure they used green, red and white because Fremantle has a fairly strong Italian heritage but their main colour has always been purple.

 

[Footy Is The Win]

I agree the name is too long. West Sydney or Western Sydney would be better.

I like their colour combination and to be honest, colours hardly respresent places. What's brown & gold about Hawthorn the suburb, or black & red about Essendon the suburb, etc? They were just colours the clubs randomly choose to adorn themselves with.

Don't be mistaken, they are representing Greater Western Sydney not NSW.

 

[Lion Cub 16]

Western Sydney should be there name, GWS is wrong.

Orange and Charcoal are good colours making them different then other teams

 

[Mr Eagle]

I suspect the Greater will eventually get dropped. Their ability to draw support from a wide net that includes Canberra, the Blue Mountains and the south of NSW will be defined by their actions, not the name on the door.

Orange is a great colour in AFL terms - very distinct, like Freo's purple and Port's sadly unloved teal. Not sure it's the best choice given the presence of the Wests Tigers in the same area though. And charcoal is gimmicky, just use black and be done with it.

Giants is a great name. Really think Gold Coast should have used it, personally.

The logo remains disappointing.

 

[Mero]

Gold Coast started out with a boring logo that got Photoshopped to buggery and made worse. (OK, maybe not photoshopped, but too many gradients added in, not only on their logo, but also their Away & Clash jumpers)
I shudder to think what the Giants logo will end up like before 2012 begins.

 

[Furla81]

Yerh but if they drop the 'greater' there goes the G in the logo
so a possible change in logo would be made too
Greater Western Sydney is too long, West Sydney Giants is much better

 

[TheDoctor11]

We already have West Coast and the Western Bulldogs though, in an arguement for the using of the "Greater"" prefix. However, if the Dogs change back to Footscray, GWS should become simply West Sydney.

 

[Jose Cruzeiro]

Is it a good name? No.

Reminds me of.....

.....colour scheme doesn't help either!

The Giants nickname is OK, but I still would've prefered "West Sydney Wolves" in light and dark blue. It wouldn't hurt them to match up the front and back of their home jumper either (looks tacky atm).

 

[GiantForce]

Yerh but if they drop the 'greater' there goes the G in the logo
so a possible change in logo would be made too
Greater Western Sydney is too long, West Sydney Giants is much better

Yeah "Giants" has nothing to do with the G does it?
------
I like the nickname, "Giants". I hope most people just call us by that or "GWS Giants". "Greater Western Sydney" or "Greater Western Sydney Giants" is a massive mouth full.

 

[Willo #6]

I don't mind GWS as a name personally, I think it works. But in a perfect world, Western Bulldogs would revert back to Footscray and GWS would become Western Sydney.

 

[E92_]

IMO 'Footscray' is an ugly name (the Foot part) and would be bad for attracting new fans.

 

[jethro11]

I reckon Carlton is a horrible, horrible name but they get fans somehow.

 

[Furla81]

Yeah "Giants" has nothing to do with the G does it?
------
I like the nickname, "Giants". I hope most people just call us by that or "GWS Giants". "Greater Western Sydney" or "Greater Western Sydney Giants" is a massive mouth full.

in the words of Danny Frawley, oh me.. oh my
such a stooge i am, ignore that. just thought they could get rid of the awful logo

 

[Mr Eagle]

I reckon Carlton is a horrible, horrible name but they get fans somehow.

[youtube]zS1cLOIxsQ8[/youtube]

If I hadn't heard of the suburb first, I might agree.

 

[jethro11]

What's the picture of, I can't see without "pro"?

 

[Andonis1997]

same Jethro

 

[Mr Eagle]

Stupid caching. Let me go rehost it...


...oh wait, here's a better idea. Done.

 

[James_Emilio]

IMO 'Footscray' is an ugly name (the Foot part) and would be bad for attracting new fans.

Whether it is ugly or not, there is a lot of history behind that name. You probably wouldn't understand as well not being a victorian, but trust me alot of bulldogs supporters are still bitter about it. However, i agree that it wouldnt be great for attracting new fans, but its not like people will drop off because of it.

 

[Silent Alarm]

In a time where attendances and profits are absolute priorities in the AFL, the Bulldogs should be called Western Bulldogs. Geographically, Essendon is just as, if not more, west than Footscray.

You want to accumulate as many future fans as possible. I really feel WB can do that. I adore Footscray Bulldogs as a name. Imagine them with that on their crest, and the soon-to-be-instilled '54 hoops. But encapsulating 'Western' suburbia will help them in the long term. Centers like Werribee and Ballarat especially should be absorbed by the Bullies.

They've got a strong colour scheme (most sports fans love red and blue) and they have an attractive game. Australia will only get more and more immigrants. There are more people coming to Melbourne with no background of AFL - they don't inherit a club from their dad or mates. They're more likely to grab the club that represents them. Geography is obviously a huge part of that. The outer suburbs are the place for new Australians. The sprawl will continue. North, east, and west will grow. Enter the Bulldogs, with the whole west to themselves. I think the AFL know this. I'd like to see Western Bulldogs become a second 'outer' Victorian team, like Geelong.

I went to the Bulldogs - Fremantle game last year at Etihad. We got flogged that day. But I recall seeing a pretty vast demographic of supporters. What are the demographics of Footscray these days? When I go to Melbourne, I tend to stay around Carlton-way, so i'm not sure.

 

[Gibbsy]

Whether it is ugly or not, there is a lot of history behind that name. You probably wouldn't understand as well not being a victorian, but trust me alot of bulldogs supporters are still bitter about it. However, i agree that it wouldnt be great for attracting new fans, but its not like people will drop off because of it.

A bloke on SEN this afternoon said he thinks it would be going backwards to revert to the Footscray name. I totally disagree. By changing the name back to Footscray it gives the club a sense of identity along with the proposed new '54 jumpers in this new era (new coach, potential rebuilding phase etc.)

 

[PortBrillance]

Its a horrible name.

Should be West Sydney or Western Sydney. That's what I call them. **** "Greater"

 

[Lion Cub 16]

I wonder if they still would of had 'Greater' in there name if they were the wolves. They might have only kept it because of the giants nickname and giants being large.

 

[ULTIMATE_WARRIOR]

The actual region colours of Western Sydney are red, white and black. Now they couldn't exactly have that could they?

So I think the colour choice they have of charcoal, orange and white is actually quite a good idea. Not only are they a unique combination in the AFL, but the bright orange and giant white 'G' instantly stand out and become recognisable. It might not take long before the branding becomes one of the most recognisable in Australia perhaps. I walked past an AFL store the other day, which had a GWS guernsey in their front window and it instantly caught my attention and looked fantastic close up.

It's also a smart move to have a similar colour set as the Wests Tigers NRL club. It becomes new but familiar at the same time straight away. As most expect, its going to be a hard ask, if even possible, to convert suppoters of Rugby League. But it may help people who show a slight interest in the game or club, or young generation fans become comfortable with the team donning familiar colours.

For the name, the Giants. It's perfect. Sure it may be Americanised a bit, but you can't really have something too Australian in the most multicultural area of the country. The Wombats or whatever wouldn't of worked or conected with the locals. And the Wolves a common choice by BF posters, whilst sounding cool, doesnt have any real meaning or something anyone can really relate to. The Giants however, represent not only the challenge ahead of the club, but perhaps its future standing in the game, the size of the area it represents and is a name all races and demographics of people can recognise.