Greater Western Sydney list manager Stephen Silvagni says it is impossible to tell how the AFL draftees the Giants will recruit on Thursday night stack up against the crop picked by Gold Coast last year.
The Suns were wooden spooners in their inaugural season this year, despite having a more established band of AFL-experienced players than those the Giants have assembled ahead of their 2012 debut.
But, as the Giants will in western Sydney on Thursday night, the Suns picked up a significant chunk of the playing squad for their debut season through the preceding national draft.
Silvagni expected it to take several years to tell whether the group of youngsters his club drafts could be the equal or better of Gold Coast's group.
"It's too early, really, in a lot of ways, to compare right at the minute," Silvagni said.
"Certainly we're happy with what we see on the table at the minute in terms of the draft kids coming through."
The most obvious difference is the sheer number of top-class youngsters the Giants will recruit.
They went for younger players than the Suns when they raided rival AFL clubs.
And they have also made use of their establishment concession to trade for more early draft picks than the Suns had available.
Whereas Gold Coast had eight of the first 13 picks in last year's draft, including the first three, the Giants have 11 of the first 14 selections in Thursday night's draft, including the first five.
"To be able to trade and get a couple of early picks has obviously helped our cause," Silvagni said.
"To have 11 out of the top 14 it really does put us in a strong position to get the elite talent through the door, so they can play with us next year."
Giants coach Kevin Sheedy said Silvagni and his recruiting team had done a mountain of work to ensure they made the most of their draft opportunity.
"Our staff have done really well," Sheedy said.
"They've followed these players for probably two to three years really, right through the Australian (under-age) championship series.
"And I think that SOS (Silvagni) in particular, he's got it all under control."
