Latest news with #GWSGiants
Daily Mail
13 hours ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
AFLW star Haneen Zreika announces exciting baby news and shares heartwarming footage of her telling her GWS teammates
AFLW player Haneen Zreika and her husband Ozzy are expecting their first child. The Greater Western Sydney Giants star, 26, recently revealed the exciting news to her teammates and shared a heartwarming clip of the moment on social media. In the footage, Haneen was seen arriving late to a team meeting before telling her fellow players the shock reason for her delay. 'Guys, I'm alive! I haven't been lying, I have been really sick... It's because I am pregnant,' Haneen told her teammates. The GWS squad were then seen jumping up in excitement as the whole team ran up to hug Haneen and congratulate her on the exciting news. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. Haneen then revealed her due date as her squad cheered her on: 'It's a November baby. Thanks guys.' It is the first child for Haneen, who has played for Greater Western Sydney since 2018. Haneen is one of the most outspoken players in the league and made headlines in October 2022 when she pulled out of the AFLW's league's pride round due to religious beliefs - the second time she has done so. The Muslim athlete said she would not be playing in the club's fixture against Hawthorn on October 16 in Sydney, where the side would be wearing specially-designed pride jumpers. The round celebrates and honours the LGBTQI+ community, which is heavily interlaced with the league given the amount of gay players. She also sparked backlash in January that year when she made the same decision to pull out of the Giants fixture - and that outrage appears to have reared its ugly head again. Haneen said she felt she had a 'responsibility to represent her faith' during pride round. For her, this meant not wearing the rainbow jersey GWS designed for the round - and she revealed she felt like an 'outsider' when the AFL rejected her proposal to just wear the normal strip. In the footage, Haneen was seen arriving late to a team meeting before telling her fellow players the shock reason for her delay 'I didn't want to make a big deal of it, until the AFL rejected me from wearing a normal jersey. That was a shock to me,' the speedy midfielder said in the Disney+ AFLW documentary 'Fearless', which was released at the start of the season. 'I love what the AFL do and the way they include everyone, but you can't have a round where you include people but exclude someone that it impacts their faith.' 'I really feel like an outsider, like, "no mate, you're not part of us",' Haneenadded. Haneen has a number of gay teammates, including captain Alicia Eva, Katherine Smith and Pepa Randall; and insists she does not 'judge the girls' despite differing beliefs. 'They can be whatever they want. I still love and respect them and they're still my mates,' she said in the documentary series.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Callan Ward turning heartbreak into inspiration sums up all that is wonderful about AFL
AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon would have to rank among the most wooden media performers I have seen or heard. Many in the industry speak highly of him and his ability to distil and diffuse, the sort of operator every leader wants by their side. But he is no frontman. Last week, he did the radio rounds justifying the latest executive shakeup. As always, it sounded like he was reading off well-thumbed, suggested speaking notes. Look, he droned; crowds, ratings and revenue are all up – we're doing so much right! It was an AI response to a very human sport. The best of Australian rules football can't be explained in media releases, or in org charts, or in SEN Fireball Friday hot takes. The best of this sport can be found at the grassroots level, or on hall of fame night, or in thousands of little moments around the country each weekend. Advertisement Related: From the Pocket: AFL players are taught to conquer their fears but some need saving from themselves One of those occurred late on Saturday afternoon, in front of bugger all people, in a part of the country where footy hasn't yet taken hold. The best of the sport was probably the worst moment of Callan Ward's career. The GWS Giants inaugural co-captain lay on a massage table, sobbing. Lachie Whitfield, a teammate of 13 years, crouched down to Ward's level, hugged him, and kissed him on the cheek. Sentimental slop, you may say, and it is to a degree. But in an industry of grind and grift, it was a tender, human moment that said a lot about both the injured player and his club. When Ward first went to Greater Western Sydney, some saw him as a traitor. He had grown up in Melbourne's inner west, the son of a man who played VFA for Yarraville and the grandson of a former South Melbourne captain. He was booed by Western Bulldogs supporters when he was still playing for them. The Herald Sun devoted its front page to the story, under the headline 'Money Rules', with a photo of Ward's mother Kerri and his three sisters holding a framed photo of their brother in action for the Bulldogs. Don't blame Callan, his mum said. Blame the AFL. 'The days of the one-club player are really dying out, particularly when you have clubs being set up like this where they come along and offer ludicrous amounts of money to play football.' But Ward was no cheque collector, no mercenary and no flight risk. There was a swagger, a competitiveness and a camaraderie at the Giants that was distinct from what the Gold Coast cultivated. No one personified that refusal to yield more than Ward. Even when they were being trounced by 20 goals, they'd be mouthing off, putting their heads over the ball, and rallying around one another. Yes, plenty of players left to return to their home state, but they never had the player drain of the Suns, especially among their leaders. Advertisement There were a lot of flashy, preternaturally talented players on that list. But Ward was a proper footballer. He didn't do many interviews, didn't rant or rave, and was a completely different personality to his co-captain Phil Davis. But he was the sort of leader people were drawn to and rallied around. He was rarely out of the top half dozen players. He was a reliable big game performer. He excelled in the often brutal Sydney derbies. But there was more to his game than a headfirst bulldozer. Martial artists often speak of 'heavy hips and light feet' and Ward had the ability to get down low, to evenly distribute his weight over the ball, and accelerate out of a stoppage. Ward has had some rotten luck. He played in five losing preliminary finals, and several of them could have gone either way. In the 2016 preliminary final, one of the best games of this era, his head collided with Zaine Cordy's knee and he was left twitching on the turf. He wrecked his knee early in the 2019 season, the only year the Giants have played off in a grand final. Late in last year's qualifying final, another classic, he charged through a stoppage, split a pair of Swans and banana kicked a goal to put them up by two majors. But the Giants lost that game and coughed up a seven-goal lead to eventual premiers Brisbane a week later, putting Ward's retirement plans on hold. He's been a remote footballer this year, living in separate states to his wife and his three gloriously named sons, Romeo, Ralfie, and Rex. There have been better and more talented footballers than Callan Ward. There have been footballers with more accolades, blazers, votes and medallions. There have been footballers who racked up bigger numbers, who looked better on a stats sheet. But there aren't many footballers who've been more admired, or meant more to a single club. His injury and his three-quarter time address summed up everything that is hard and wonderful and meaningful about the sport. They were moments where football spoke for itself, where nothing needed to be defended, or sold, or spun.
The Guardian
a day ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Callan Ward turning heartbreak into inspiration sums up all that is wonderful about AFL
AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon would have to rank among the most wooden media performers I have seen or heard. Many in the industry speak highly of him and his ability to distil and diffuse, the sort of operator every leader wants by their side. But he is no frontman. Last week, he did the radio rounds justifying the latest executive shakeup. As always, it sounded like he was reading off well-thumbed, suggested speaking notes. Look, he droned; crowds, ratings and revenue are all up – we're doing so much right! It was an AI response to a very human sport. The best of Australian rules football can't be explained in media releases, or in org charts, or in SEN Fireball Friday hot takes. The best of this sport can be found at the grassroots level, or on hall of fame night, or in thousands of little moments around the country each weekend. One of those occurred late on Saturday afternoon, in front of bugger all people, in a part of the country where footy hasn't yet taken hold. The best of the sport was probably the worst moment of Callan Ward's career. The GWS Giants inaugural co-captain lay on a massage table, sobbing. Lachie Whitfield, a teammate of 13 years, crouched down to Ward's level, hugged him, and kissed him on the cheek. Sentimental slop, you may say, and it is to a degree. But in an industry of grind and grift, it was a tender, human moment that said a lot about both the injured player and his club. When Ward first went to Greater Western Sydney, some saw him as a traitor. He had grown up in Melbourne's inner west, the son of a man who played VFA for Yarraville and the grandson of a former South Melbourne captain. He was booed by Western Bulldogs supporters when he was still playing for them. The Herald Sun devoted its front page to the story, under the headline 'Money Rules', with a photo of Ward's mother Kerri and his three sisters holding a framed photo of their brother in action for the Bulldogs. Don't blame Callan, his mum said. Blame the AFL. 'The days of the one-club player are really dying out, particularly when you have clubs being set up like this where they come along and offer ludicrous amounts of money to play football.' Inspirational. Despite his injury, Cal Ward fires up his team before the final term.#AFLGiantsTigers But Ward was no cheque collector, no mercenary and no flight risk. There was a swagger, a competitiveness and a camaraderie at the Giants that was distinct from what the Gold Coast cultivated. No one personified that refusal to yield more than Ward. Even when they were being trounced by 20 goals, they'd be mouthing off, putting their heads over the ball, and rallying around one another. Yes, plenty of players left to return to their home state, but they never had the player drain of the Suns, especially among their leaders. There were a lot of flashy, preternaturally talented players on that list. But Ward was a proper footballer. He didn't do many interviews, didn't rant or rave, and was a completely different personality to his co-captain Phil Davis. But he was the sort of leader people were drawn to and rallied around. He was rarely out of the top half dozen players. He was a reliable big game performer. He excelled in the often brutal Sydney derbies. But there was more to his game than a headfirst bulldozer. Martial artists often speak of 'heavy hips and light feet' and Ward had the ability to get down low, to evenly distribute his weight over the ball, and accelerate out of a stoppage. Ward has had some rotten luck. He played in five losing preliminary finals, and several of them could have gone either way. In the 2016 preliminary final, one of the best games of this era, his head collided with Zaine Cordy's knee and he was left twitching on the turf. He wrecked his knee early in the 2019 season, the only year the Giants have played off in a grand final. Late in last year's qualifying final, another classic, he charged through a stoppage, split a pair of Swans and banana kicked a goal to put them up by two majors. But the Giants lost that game and coughed up a seven-goal lead to eventual premiers Brisbane a week later, putting Ward's retirement plans on hold. He's been a remote footballer this year, living in separate states to his wife and his three gloriously named sons, Romeo, Ralfie, and Rex. Sign up to From the Pocket: AFL Weekly Jonathan Horn brings expert analysis on the week's biggest AFL stories after newsletter promotion There have been better and more talented footballers than Callan Ward. There have been footballers with more accolades, blazers, votes and medallions. There have been footballers who racked up bigger numbers, who looked better on a stats sheet. But there aren't many footballers who've been more admired, or meant more to a single club. His injury and his three-quarter time address summed up everything that is hard and wonderful and meaningful about the sport. They were moments where football spoke for itself, where nothing needed to be defended, or sold, or spun.
News.com.au
2 days ago
- General
- News.com.au
GWS seal emphatic comeback over Tigers
AFL: GWS have overcome an almighty scare from Richmond on Saturday evening, finishing victors by just three points in a Saturday evening thriller at ENGIE Stadium.
7NEWS
6 days ago
- Sport
- 7NEWS
Unfiltered: Geelong premiership hero Jeremy Cameron opens up on ‘worst game' of his career
Geelong premiership hero Jeremy Cameron has opened up on the 'worst game' of his life that helped shaped his career. Cameron has been one of the AFL's best players since making his debut for the GWS Giants in their first ever game way back in 2012. The superstar forward kicked 62 goals in his second season as a 20-year-old to make the All-Australian team. While he had already announced himself as a start of the competition after that incredible season, it was a game in 2016 that Cameron highlights as the turning point in his career. The Giants finished the season in fourth place before stunning minor premiers Sydney in the qualifying final to book a home preliminary final. Cameron kicked 4.4 in that win over the Swans, but had just two kicks in his next match as the Giants fell to the Western Bulldogs in an instant classic. It was only the fifth time in four seasons he had been goalless and came at the worst possible time. The Dogs would go on to win the premiership the following week, which hurt Cameron even more. 'I believe that that game is a big turning point for me in my career,' Cameron tells Hamish McLachlan on Unfiltered. 'I rate it as the worst game I've ever played. I've played four or five years up to that stage, I know better to go out there and just have no impact on what was a massive game, I think that's what hurt me the most. 'It's probably the only game I've sat back and thought about long and hard. 'It was a good turning point for me, I wanted to come back and have a genuine off-season and work hard. 'That was one where I'm like, 'I'm going to go overboard here and come back fitter than ever because I want 2017 better than last year'. 'I'm sure a lot of boys thought the same. I hated that game and I hated watching on to see what happened afterwards as well.' After 171 games in nine years at the Giants, Cameron moved to Geelong at the end of the 2020 season. But if it wasn't for the covid lockdowns, then Cameron may have continued his career at GWS. 'It's a tricky question. Honestly, I probably still would be back up there if I had to put my money somewhere,' he said.
