Jonathon Patton has committed to Greater Western Sydney until the end of 2015 and the former No.1 draft pick says the expansion club can become a force to be reckoned with in that time.
Buoyed by a pre-season cup win over AFL premiers Sydney on Sunday, Patton said the Giants were poised to improve significantly in coming years on their debut season which produced only two wins and earned them the wooden spoon.
“I’m not going to put a timeline on it but it (success) is going to happen sooner rather than later,” Patton said on Wednesday.
“Everyone wants success, that is why you play the game and I think we are in the best position we can possibly be in.
“The club has done an amazing job to put this list together. We have a lot of talent here. This is a great club to be at. This is a club you don’t want to leave.”
The No.1 pick in the 2011 draft, Patton played seven games in an injury-interrupted year in 2012. He was one of seven GWS youngsters to agree to contract extensions with the Giants as the club moved to shore up its future.
The 19-year-old forward was joined by Dom Tyson, Will Hoskin-Elliott, Andrew Phillips and Sam Frost in agreeing to contract extensions with the Giants until the end of 2015.
Curtly Hampton and Aidan Corr have committed to the club until the end of 2016.
Coach Kevin Sheedy said the mass re-signing was proof the club was on the right track.
“It’s a really pleasing feature that these boys have the confidence in the club to stay after what was a tough first year for the boys,” Sheedy said.
“I think they understand the development process we are going through.
“This will be one of the great AFL clubs and they can say they were there when this was all started up.
“The camaraderie between the guys coming through at the same age is a real energy.
Disquiet among Melbourne clubs about the Giants’ draft concessions has unnerved Sydney’s second team and Giants boss David Matthews said the news of the re-signings might not make happy reading for his counterparts down south.
“The other clubs would have been expecting a lot of these guys not to want to extend,” Matthews said.
“This might come as a disappointment to other clubs, but we are not going to apologise for being in the competition. We are building something which will be beneficial for the whole competition.”