THE EDITORIAL
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IT WAS yet another of those "big" occasions the entire region can be proud of.
Saturday's AFL match between the Greater Western Sydney (GWS) Giants and the St Kilda Saints was an amazing success, showing the appetite for big sporting events is well and truly alive in this region.
As the adopted regional "home" of the Giants, Robertson Oval provided the perfect stage for a clash that saw the Sydney side put on a clinic against the Saints.
And while the on-field result was fantastic for the Giants supporters, it was more the "big picture" signal that mattered on Saturday.
From the moment the Giants and Saints rolled into town on Friday the city was abuzz with everything AFL.
An extensive tour of schools and the hospital ensured the visit didn't just raise the hopes of loyal supporters, but received plenty of profile in the wider community.
Players were more than generous with their time, as was senior Giants coach Leon Cameron, who was even signing autographs on Saturday morning at the Marketplace.
For the AFL it doesn't get much better than this and the numbers back up this region's love of the competition.
With just a tick under 8000 people flocking to Robertson Oval, Wagga's match chalked up a bigger crowd than the North Melbourne-Carlton clash in Ballarat and the Giants-Swans game in Canberra.
And in the context of the NAB Challenge, which consisted of 18 games, Wagga attracted the seventh largest crowd and, more often than not, the 8000 spectators was more than double the other attendances.
It was a genuine stamp of approval and one which the AFL should identify as a real opportunity to grow the game in regional NSW.
The Giants have been embraced by Wagga, and while their membership in terms of the AFL juggernauts is still modest, it is building.
And like all sporting teams, with success comes interest and the Giants are heading in the right direction.
Hopefully, our city's special relationship with the Giants will continue to grow and ensure Wagga remains very much front and centre as GWS becomes an AFL force.
Paul McLoughlin
Editor