FORMER Nyah-Nyah West United junior and now GWS forward Brent Daniels will remain a Giant for life after last week signing a six-year contract extension with the club, tying him to Western Sydney until the end of 2031.
Daniels turned his back on free agency, for which he was eligible with the completion of his current contract at the end of 2025.
The 25-year-old former Demon has established himself as one of the AFL’s premier small forwards, having also being selected in the All-Australian squad of 44 players last week.
Although Daniels missed selection in the final All-Australian team, his selection in the initial squad is seen as just reward for an outstanding season in which he has cemented himself as one of the Giants’ first-picked players.
Daniels spoke with The Guardian following the announcement of his re-signing and was adamant his future, both in the short and long term, belonged in Sydney with GWS.
“It’s really exciting to lock my future away,” Daniels said.
“I’ve got a year left on my current deal but now I’ve also locked in another six years, so essentially I’m here for seven more years at the Giants.
“It’s really exciting for me.
“I love it up here and that’s why I signed really early.
“I didn’t want to let it play out and let people talk about what I was going to do next year or what I was going to do the year after.
“It’s something I’ve always looked to be, a one-club player.
“I feel like I’m an extremely loyal guy and it’s something that really excites me, the thought of being a one-club player.
“I really love it up here.
“They (GWS) gave me my first opportunity to do what I love.
“I’ve had some injury troubles over my journey as well and they’ve been really supportive of me through that so I need to repay the faith now and I’m just really excited for the next seven years.
“Now it’s my job to repay them and locking myself in to the club is the way to do that, but now I need to continue playing good footy.”
Daniels’ selection to the All-Australian squad came as little surprise given his body of work over the past 18 months, with the small forward rated elite by Champion Data in score involvements, inside 50s, goal assists and disposals across all high forwards in the AFL.
It was a moment that signified how far Daniels had travelled in his career, from being drafted with the 27th pick in the 2017 AFL draft to suffering repeated hamstring injuries several seasons ago to become one of the most respected players in the league in one of the most difficult roles to play on the ground.
“I was really honoured to be named in the squad but I honestly had no expectations to make the final team,” Daniels said.
“Obviously I was a little disappointed (to not make the final team) but I had no expectations, and to be honest I’m just really looking forward to the finals series and this Saturday’s game against the Swans, because this time of year is really exciting.
“This is the time of year when you want to be playing so I’m not thinking about the All-Australian too much.
“It’s come really fast, all the recognition, and I was just happy to be named in the squad.
“I’m just really looking forward to the finals series.”
Daniels and his GWS teammates will start their finals campaign against minor premiers and crosstown rivals Sydney on Saturday, having finished the home-and-away season fourth with a 15-win eight-loss record.
Having been rested for the Giants’ final match of the season, a 37-point loss to the Western Bulldogs, Daniels said he was looking forward to attacking the Swans head-on with his clean skills by hand and foot and uncanny goal smarts.
“We’ve had a week to freshen up and we had a solid training session on Friday to keep the run in our legs, but this week we’ll dial into a bit of a plan on how we want to play and how we want to attack the Swans,” Daniels said.
“It will be a massive game.
“It’s already sold out.
“The crowd will be heated and it will be a hostile environment for us, but we love playing the Swans and it’s great for footy in Sydney.
“We’re looking forward to it and it’ll definitely be a fiery clash.
“They have the wood over us this year but both times we’ve played them we’ve had a few boys out and the conditions in the first game were pretty wet so it’ll be a bit different this time around.
“We’ll have to play really well.
“They’re a great team and they’ve been great all year, but we’re a really good chance if we play our way and get our game going.”
The match against the Swans won’t be the only game to have some of Daniels’ focus this weekend, however, with brothers Riley and Corey expected to line up for his home club NNW United in their first semi-final against Balranald this Sunday.
Daniels paid close attention to his home club’s loss last Saturday against the Mallee Eagles despite being some 800 kilometres away, with his heart never far from home.
“There are a lot of local boys still playing there that I played a lot of footy with as well growing up and I always keep a close eye on how they’re going,” Daniels said.
“With (brothers) Riley and Corey playing, it’s really exciting.
“I’ll be listening in as they go through the finals hopefully.
“It’s still a place I really care for and love.
“I’ll be keeping an eye on them and hopefully they go all the way this year.
“I’ll certainly be cheering them on all the way, that’s for sure.”
