Scientists from the University of Western Sydney (UWS) have discovered a previously unknown AFL team living in Western Sydney.

Professor Rachael Jenkins, Head of Anthropology at UWS, said it was amazing that the team had gone this long without being discovered.

“This is an extraordinary find. They seem keen to engage with us and have offered us footballs that they have written their names on as a sign of friendship.”

“They wear mainly orange and talk a lot about Giants, which seem to figure heavily in their foundation myths.

“They’ve been keen to barter for items such as food, water and mature bodies in return for priority picks.”

The research team has warned locals to keep away from the team, to avoid spreading infections.

“Outside their own group, they’ve had almost no contact with other people,” said Professor Jenkins.

Locals have reacted with surprise to the news but say there have been unsubstantiated reports in the past of something being there.

“We always took any reports with a grain of salt,” said local resident Gary Strenski.

“Once a bunch of Collingwood supporters turned up in the neighbourhood but we just called the police. Perhaps they could have been looking for them,”

Hospital records also show a man named ‘Israel Folau,’ once turned up at the local hospital making strange claims about living with a tribe of AFL footballers.

The research team said they are still unsure how the team came to be in Western Sydney.

“It makes almost no sense at all. AFL teams usually stick to southern parts of Australia or the occasional capital city. Western Sydney is a pretty hostile environment for them,” said Professor Jenkins.