Their new name is a bit of a mouthful, but the Greater Western Sydney Giants were officially born on Tuesday night aiming to prove the critics wrong and build a successful AFL franchise in the region.

After months of research, competitions and polls, Giants is the moniker selected by the AFL's 18th team, an apt name for a club that faces a giant task trying to win over sporting fans in a rugby league heartland.

Unveiled at a lavish ceremony at Sydney's Olympic Park, just metres from the Showground stadium they will call home in 2012, star signing Israel Folau and coach Kevin Sheedy were among the chief spruikers as the club sold itself to the sporting world.

The team colours will be orange, charcoal and white, with the club unveiling two prospective home jumpers for next year to be decided by fans.

One is orange with a large, stylised 'G' in the centre and charcoal strips on the sides, with the other featuring orange in the top half and a white 'G' wrapped around charcoal colours in the bottom half.

The team will wear charcoal shorts and orange socks, while the plan is for the away jumper to feature some NSW sky blue.

The AFL know they have taken on a huge task trying to sell the game to the region but league boss Andrew Demetriou is confident they will succeed.

"It's a very, very proud night for the AFL and part of a process that started more than a decade ago," he said.

"Our greatest risk of all was doing nothing.

"We have great respect for the other sports and codes in this community, in particular the NRL. They have sought for over 100 years to work with the community.

"We want to do the same.

"We're committed to the long-term success of the team in greater western Sydney.

"Our plans aren't based on two years or five years or 10 years, they're based around 20, 30 years into the future and beyond."

There were giant screens at the front of the room for the ceremony, curiously with former Swans captain Barry Hall prominent in both Sydney and Bulldogs colours, while troubled star Ben Cousins was also shown alongside scenes from the 2010 season.

The glitzy production also included a computer-generated demonstration of what the Showgrounds stadium will look like after it is redeveloped to a 25,000-seat ground for their first home match in 2012.

"We're going to take our game and make a huge footprint in greater western Sydney," master promoter Sheedy said.

"There's an opportunity for the people of western Sydney to become part of a great game.

"I'm very, very proud of the colours and I love the name."

And with that Sheedy headed for the membership van at one end of the venue to start selling memberships.

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