THE FINAL deadline for Greater Western Sydney uncontracted player signings came and went at 2pm on Friday, without a whisper from the land of the Giants.

What had been the most hyped story in football for the past three years - the prospect of big name players leaving their clubs to join the AFL's expansion teams - petered out by the end of 2012.

Under rules designed to help their introduction to the League, the Giants had two years to sign up to 16 uncontracted players - one from every club except Gold Coast.

Their final bounty was five: Tom Scully, Callan Ward, Phil Davis, Rhys Palmer and Western Bulldogs midfielder Sam Reid.

All of those signings came at the end of the 2011 season.

At that point, the haul was not quite as impressive as Gold Coast's in 2010, which featured the best player in the land Gary Ablett, but there was an expectation of a similar marquee-type player arriving in Greater Western Sydney at the end of year two.

Dane Swan, Scott Pendlebury, Dale Thomas, Travis Cloke, Sam Mitchell, Brendon Goddard, Daniel Rich, Taylor Walker, Alipate Carlile, Michael Hurley and Todd Goldstein were all, at various stages, linked to the Giants.

"Pendlebury, Thomas and Swan are all superstars," Giants coach Kevin Sheedy said in February 2011.

"I would be very surprised if [GWS football operations manager] 'Gubby' Allan could not get one of them.

"They are the type of player we are after."

All eventually stayed put or, in the case of Goddard, moved elsewhere.

The Giants, instead, have focused on gaining a dominant position in the NAB AFL Draft, and adding experience in the form of seasoned veterans who would otherwise have retired.

Last year, through a combination of draft concessions and shrewd trading of mini-draft picks and pre-listed players, they landed 11 of the best 14 prospects in the land.

They're in a similar position entering this year's draft on the Gold Coast, holding picks one, two, three, 12 and 13.

There are, no doubt, reasons for the Giants' failure to sign a star this year.

Aware of the threat, rival clubs wised up and started locking players up earlier, and for longer.

The five-year contracts to the likes of Hurley and young Sydney Swans key forward Sam Reid owe something to the newcomers' looming shadow.

Likewise, the introduction of free agency has meant every club in the competition can sign eligible players without needing to trade.

Perhaps the Giants may have snared Goddard from St Kilda, had Essendon and 15 others not been able to make him an offer this season.

The concern is that the lack of signings this year points to reluctance of AFL players to move to the west of Sydney.

Greater Western Sydney chose not to comment for this story, save to say it is happy to be entering the draft in a strong position.

They may also have pointed to their record so far of re-signing their young talent - nine have already committed until the end of 2015 - as evidence that player retention won't be an issue in the long-term.