Footy training for western & south-western Sydney
Western Sydney is the GIANTS’ home. Their trial starts with a 2km time trial — which is the part of it you can prepare for on your own.
One month free, then A$24.99/month. Cancel any time. iPhone and iPad.
Western and south-western Sydney are GWS GIANTS Academy zone. The GIANTS trialled for their 2026 under-16 to under-18 programs in Western Sydney, testing endurance, speed and agility, power and skills: a 2km time trial for boys (1.6km for girls), skill drills, contests and match play. South West Sydney Blues and East Coast Eagles are the region’s clubs in the new Sydney Football League from 2027.
Your academy
On the AFL’s NSW/ACT zoning map these council areas are in the GWS GIANTS Academy zone. The map uses council names from before the 2016 mergers.
- GWS GIANTS Academy
- Under-16 to under-18 programs for boys and girls, with trials in Western Sydney; an under-15 program trials in late January and early February. Western Sydney is one of the GIANTS’ regional centres.
Councils on the line between the two academies on that map — Ryde, Parramatta, Auburn and Bankstown among them — are not assigned here. Players outside the zone can trial, but the GIANTS say an invitation is unlikely.
The competitions
- Sydney Football League clubs here (from 2027)
- South West Sydney Blues (South West) and East Coast Eagles (West).
- AFL Sydney
- Community football across the city.
Set it up for Western & south-western Sydney
Four things, in the order the app asks them. None of them needs a coach.
Choose footy, then your team nights
Onboarding asks “When do you train with your team?” Pick your club nights — Sydney Football League clubs here (from 2027) or wherever you play — and your gym and conditioning are scheduled around them, lighter the day after a big one. Tell it your equipment and any niggles and every exercise is fitted to both.
Match the program to your league’s start
The app treats March as the start of the footy season. If your community season starts in April, you can hold the pre-season a few weeks longer by setting the phase yourself. The phase lives in Program → Your year.
Know your numbers on day one
Your first testing session is ready immediately: 2km time trial, Bench press 1RM, Max pull-ups, Trap-bar deadlift 1RM, Running vertical jump. It is re-run every 8 weeks, and the results re-price your training weights and conditioning paces.
Put your suburb on the board
In Social → Town, set where you train. Your minutes count toward that town’s weekly conditioning and strength top-10 boards — only the town is kept, never your location.
What you start with, by the month you join
Every block is four weeks — three building, one deload — so a free month is one complete block. The footy calendar and conditions are on the Sydney guide.
Coaching a side in Western & south-western Sydney?
A club licence is A$8 per player, per month (minimum 5), and every player on it gets full Train Smart membership at no cost to them. You write the block once, it lands in each player’s app, and the console shows who actually did it.
Footy in Western & south-western Sydney: questions
Which AFL academy covers Penrith, Blacktown and Liverpool?
What does the GIANTS Academy trial test?
Where these facts come from
Checked September 2026. Zones, grades and dates change — if something here is out of date, the governing body is right and we are wrong.
Nearby and related
Sydney footy
The leagues, the season and every region across Sydney.
OpenNorth, east & south Sydney
Swans Academy zone — the North Shore and beaches, the east, the inner west, St George and the Shire.
OpenThe AFL pathway
From community level to state league and the draft — and what gets tested along the way.
OpenTurn up to round one already fit
Pick footy, tell it your team nights, and your first block and testing session are ready before you leave the car park.
One month free, then A$24.99/month. Cancel any time. iPhone and iPad.