Patton among host of Giants to commit

Signed ... Jonathon Patton is one of seven young Giants to pen a new deal with the club. Source: Gregg Porteous / News Limited

Greater Western Sydney Giants have protected their young stars from swooping rivals, confirming seven players have signed new deals with the club.

Jonathon Patton, Dom Tyson, Will Hoskin-Elliott, Andrew Phillips and Sam Frost have committed until the end of the 2015 AFL season while Curtly Hampton and Aidan Corr signed through 2016.

The announcement comes a year after the expansion club retained a host of 13 players including Toby Greene and Jeremy Cameron, who finished second and third respectively in the Giants’ inaugural best and fairest.

Patton, the No.1 selection from 2011 said: “It's a great place to be. I think we are in the best position we can possibly be in and I think success is going to happen sooner rather than later.''

"I'm not going to put a timeline on it but it (success) is going to happen sooner rather than later."

"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."

“I want to thank all the players who have committed to the Giants for the faith they have shown in the club. They clearly believe we have an exciting future and they want to be part of it, Giants chief executive David Matthews said on Wednesday.

"I also want to congratulate football manager Graeme Allan and list manager Stephen Silvagni who have not only recruited these players to the club but had a concerted strategy to develop and retain them.”

The Giants open their 2013 campaign against Sydney on March 30 at ANZ Stadium and will hope to improve on last year's corresponding effort when Kevin Sheedy's troops lost by 94 points in their AFL debut.

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