Greater Western Sydney will be waiting "a lot of years" for crowd numbers that reflect their on-field AFL exploits, Sydney Swans chief Andrew Ireland predicts.
The Giants' bid to take over western Sydney's NRL heartland was always ambitious.
That the expansion club have already well exceeded expectations in the code's most barren territory is a triumph.
But Ireland, who was part of the committee that formulated rules around assistance for GWS and Gold Coast's entry into the competition, said there's no escaping the reality that a supporter base takes generations to build regardless of a team's performances.
"Where they are is probably the toughest market for an AFL club in Australia," Ireland told AAP.
"It's going to be generational, it's not going to happen overnight."
The Giants' transformation into flag favourites has triggered a spike in memberships - in May the club cracked the 20,000 threshold to sit among the top few Sydney-based sporting clubs across all codes.
Match attendances are growing at a slower pace.
Crowds are steadily improving at Spotless Stadium following a tepid start to the season, with last weekend's 21,924 Sydney derby turnout providing a significant boost to the bottom line.
The venue's 2017 average after six home games is now 13,444, slightly up on last season's 12,126 over eight matches, while crowds at the club's second home in Canberra are slightly down on last year at 11,617 with one ACT fixture remaining.
The grand total is still less than half of the Swans' average 2017 turnout at the SCG, something Ireland put down to the simple fact the Giants are still only five-and-a-half years old.
"They're are an exciting team, and at face value will be for a while, so it gives them a chance," Ireland said.
"But it's hard to build a membership from scratch in general.
"Then if you're talking about the true west where it's not really AFL heartland, an awful lot of work will need to be done for a lot of years yet."
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