GROWING up in Broken Hill meant that space to kick a footy was never hard to come by for Isaac Cumming.
The Greater Western Sydney midfielder, sidelined with a hamstring injury, grew up in Broken Hill and despite the town sharing the GWS Academy region with Western Sydney, the high rises that surround him at Giants HQ are a far cry from the open plains he grew up knowing.
"In town there were ovals everywhere," Cumming says of Broken Hill.
"Every single school had an oval or a park itself to be able to play footy on. Obviously every footy club had its own as well.
"There was no shortage of spaces to be able to go and play footy on and most days after school we would go and kick the footy or play basketball, or when the Australian Open was on it was making use of free facilities there, as there were tennis courts everywhere.
"I know now that I was very lucky. So fortunate to have those."
The realisation was made abundantly clear on a recent player visit with fellow Giant Adam Kennedy, to Wentworth Point.
Less than 3kms from Giants HQ, it's the most densely populated suburb in Australia. The 15000-plus residents share one 20 x 15m patch of Astroturf atop a car park as the sole available green space for the community.
"When Adam and I got there, we were really taken aback," Cumming says.
"We weren't really sure what to expect as usually player visits and appearances we spend a lot of time with local footy clubs or at schools.
"It was so different to what myself or 'Kenners' [Kennedy] would have known.
"It's a slab of concrete. But it didn't deter the kids' spirit at all. Everyone had a smile on their face, they were laughing, there were balls flying everywhere.
"It was really cool to see how much that space meant to them but you could just imagine how impactful it would be for them to have an oval with a field, even a park."
Heba Aly, the owner of Titan Sports Management, runs a sport training program for children within the community out of the hub, three afternoons a week.
"We started in an empty carpark, no grass," Aly says.
"But it didn't stop the kids and the families coming, looking for that fun. Everyone here lives in an apartment."
Titan Sports programs are a direct reflection of the Wentworth Point community; multiculturally and linguistically diverse, with most residents first or second generation Australians.
"It's good for these kids to know more about Australia and sport here," Aly says.
"AFL is the most Australian sport. So we thought why not give these kids the chance to feel and love it the way a lot of Australians do."
With a push towards more high-density housing in the area, to account for a burgeoning western Sydney population, the Wentworth Point patch is just as important to residents as Engie Stadium is to the Giants.
With over a thousand children under the age of nine residing in the suburb, the area is also a reflection of both the challenge and opportunity attached to Giants fandom.
"It was unreal speaking with the parents, that they were just excited as the kids," Cumming says.
"It was good to see that they were trying to educate their kids about what we do and who we are.
"My first few years here in 2016 was when the boys were consistently starting to challenge and make finals.
"But we were going to appearances and schools and we were still culturally trying to cut through in a lot of them.
"These days when we go to them the volume and interest is so much more. For these kids to know me and know players and being genuine fans of the game is really exciting.
"You never know what affect you may have on a kid that day. There's always a strong focus to have as much fun as you can with them, they might have fallen in love with footy that day."
