Heath Shaw leads the celebrations after the Giants’ first win at Geelong in round four. Photo: GETTY IMAGES

Fears about an AFL-created premiership monster have gradually given way to a grudging appreciation of Greater Western Sydney’s place in the game.

The unwanted AFL golden child has emerged from the shadows of our resentment to enjoy an oddly smooth footballing assimilation.

And somewhat perversely, GWS’ success in turning the tide of public opinion has largely been defined by its ultimate on-field failures to date.

Of course, popularity was never going to come easy for the competition’s newbie.

Seemingly a makeweight for Gold Coast’s AFL inception, the Giants’ entry into a NSW market that appeared barely able to sustain the incumbent Swans ensured a cool reception.

It didn’t help that the targeting of virtual AFL bandit territory in western Sydney – underlined by the Giants’ dubious Israel Folau recruitment – was considered another slap in the face for the sentimental Tasmanian AFL push.

If GWS’ treasure chest of draft and salary cap concessions hadn’t evaporated any remaining goodwill outside of Blacktown, the Giants luring Phil Davis, Callan Ward, Tom Scully and co. from rival clubs certainly did.

But just as antipathy towards GWS reached boiling point, the Giants somehow morphed into our very own “Choose Your Own Adventure” book for an expansion club.

Almost as if, having suddenly sensed its alienation from the rest of the competition, a self-conscious GWS chose to indulge our fancies so as to fit in.

We wanted the Giants to be punished for their perceived entitlement-related sins, and they were. The club managed a paltry total of three wins across its first two seasons, which were punctuated by several brutal beatings.

Fed up with inaugural coach Kevin Sheedy’s brash promoter shtick, we welcomed the club’s appointment of the uber-humble Leon Cameron.

Then, having become tired of the new kids losing narrative and realising the extent of the Suns’ problems, GWS dutifully provided us with two increasingly competitive campaigns.

That “Buddy” Franklin snubbed the Giants in favour of a controversial Godfather offer from the Swans – in so doing, blurring the hitherto good guy Swans-bad guy Giants Sydney dynamic – was a further PR boost for the club.

But even sans Buddy, suddenly the Giants were good, scary good, and our fears of orange-coloured domination came flooding back.

The club’s embarrassment of elite young riches was one thing, the second wave of lateral raids that netted cherry-on-top stars Heath Shaw, Ryan Griffen and later Brett Deledio quite another.

That the Giants also possessed a distinctly unsociable streak – courtesy of the likes of Shane Mumford, Toby Greene and Jeremy Cameron’s elbows – left an even more bitter taste.

And the threat posed by GWS was not limited to premiership cups. The club also had the opportunity to play fairytale spoiler by ending the 2016 Bulldog, 2017 Tiger and 2018 Magpie Cinderella stories in the process. A doomsday scenario straight from our worst nightmares.

As though our wish was the Giants’ command, GWS proceeded to fail on each occasion. A combination of inexperience, injuries and an increasing flow of player exits amidst a salary cap squeeze was largely to blame.

Not that the club complained about it, any perceived brattishness having been washed away by a maturity embodied by the club’s revered co-captains, Davis and Ward.

Of course, the Giant threat remains. The club’s stirring first-ever win in Geelong against the Cats in particular was a warning shot for the rest of the competition as to what may still be in store.

And yet success breeds salary demands. Having already started losing the likes of Dylan Shiel and being forced to dig deep in its pockets to retain Josh Kelly, one suspects GWS’ talent drain will only increase.

There is also the matter of the Giants’ ongoing financial viability, particularly in light of the AFL’s hefty financial contribution to the club in 2018, and whether this could have any adverse impact on the club’s on-field fortunes down the road.

Whatever the case, if GWS manages to win a flag from here on in, it would be far more palatable than ever before.

Premierships are defined by struggle and sacrifice, and the Giants have now endured both.