Alyce Parker poses for a photo during Greater Western Sydney’s official team photo day on May 26, 2025. Picture: AFL Photos

GREATER Western Sydney is tired of losing and is ready to get results trending in the right direction, according to star Alyce Parker.

One of the eight inaugural AFLW clubs who are about to enter their 10th season, the Giants have won just 25 games across their history, and haven’t landed consecutive victories since 2021.

The comparison to the likes of Adelaide (66 wins), Brisbane (65) and Melbourne (62) is stark, while the Western Bulldogs, who have only registered 32 wins, have the 2018 flag to hang their hat on.

Four-time club champion Alyce Parker is leading the charge this year, passionate about the club, and sick of being the perennial loser.

“You can absolutely say I love footy, I love what I’m doing. But everyone hates losing. We hate losing,” Parker told AFL.com.au.

There is a fire in Parker’s eye as she speaks. Fiercely defensive of the club she has called home since 2019, she is ready to fight for its success and, most importantly, respect across the AFLW landscape.

Being the newest AFL club in the country, with the Giants joining the men’s League in 2012, combined with its location in the rugby heartland of western Sydney, offers the club its own unique challenges. Those challenges are magnified in the women’s game, where a state-based draft was in place until 2023, and the cost of living among the highest in the country.

Alyce Parker in action during Greater Western Sydney’s clash against Hawthorn in round eight, 2024. Picture: AFL Photos

“We are our history. Our history was about five years ago and honestly, that changed my perspective completely… it’s difficult, it comes with challenges, but there’s a reason why we do it,” Parker said.

“It’s because it’s going to change at some point. It happened to the boys; it took them 10 years to become a competitive side and look at them now. So, I’m sick of being patient.”

The biggest shift that Parker has noticed over the off-season has been the addition of top-end talent by way of the national Telstra AFLW Draft. Last year, the Giants added West Australian Kaitlyn Srhoj with pick No.3, and this year Victorian Sara Howley with pick No.4.

Where in the past there has been a lot of pressure on a handful of Giants to get the job done, there is a sense that the load is now being spread a little further.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – DECEMBER 17: Sara Howley of the Giants poses during an AFLW Draft media opportunity at AFL House on December 17, 2024 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images via AFL Photos)

“You can never come up against a team with a predictable spine, that if you shut down two or three players, that’s so vulnerable, and there was definitely a period that we looked like that,” Parker said.

“So yes, it is changing, because it had to. Honestly, until the draft went national, we just had such little control over that. Like, how do we get that access to talent on the same wage in Sydney, which is so expensive? It was just impossible… So, the national draft coming in has had an instant change.

“I get asked a lot every single year, particularly this point in the pre-season, ‘How are we tracking? How do you feel?’ I hate the feeling of ‘We’re do much further ahead than we were last year’, I hate that line. But, for me, it’s the most talented team I’ve ever trained with.”

Those top-end draftees have benefited from the talent pathways and investment into the AFLW over the last nine years of the League’s existence. They have a better understanding of what is required to succeed as an elite footballer, not just athlete.

Kaitlyn Srhoj is tackled by Grace Hill during the week six AFLW match between GWS and Melbourne on October 3, 2024. Picture: AFL Photos

“(They bring) professionalism, and honestly just footy IQ. We talk about that as if it just happens, like, footy IQ is bred from a really young age… so there’s talent in that, but just the footy IQ coming in as genuine footballers understanding the game,” Parker said.

The club’s season-opener last year, where it landed its highest ever score and biggest ever win against the Western Bulldogs, was a sign of what GWS could be in the AFLW.

“It was the first time my family walked away being like ‘I loved every minute of that game, I loved watching you guys play football’,” Parker said.

“I love every game I play, but just literally watching the ball move between us… I walked off being like, ‘That’s what I want every week’. So, that was an experience I had where I realised ‘Yep, that’s the picture that we’re working towards’.”

Alyce Parker during Greater Western Sydney’s clash against the Western Bulldogs in round one, 2024. Picture: AFL Photos

Parker sees the vision, and she trusts her coaches and teammates to get there and start achieving what she internally knows they are capable of. And it’s a big reason why she chose to sign on until at least the end of the 2027 season.

“I put so much into this club, and I will continue to do so. You could never just walk away from that, particularly with the moments where you see… those glimmers of hope. You cannot ignore it,” Parker said.

“You can’t walk away from it, and for me, that’s what I stick to. Because if I didn’t have that, no one would be here. Why would I be here? So, I have that now, and yeah, I have been frustrated at times. We certainly have as a club, and there’s a few of us, we’ve been here through it all.

“So, if anyone’s feeling the brunt of it, it’s us. But we’re here again for a reason. That’s because we see something, and we want to be here the moment it turns.”