HEARTBREAK was written all over his face post-match, but Stephen Coniglio believes Greater Western Sydney's preliminary final loss was the wake-up call they needed.
Coniglio, like most of his teammates, was visibly upset after the Western Bulldogs won through to last year's Grand Final by six points in a thriller at Spotless Stadium, a defeat the West Australian found hard to get over.
The 23-year-old headed to the United States and Europe to holiday with family and friends after a breakthrough season for both he and the club, and while the hurt of the loss lingered, Coniglio will use it to drive his 2017 campaign.
GWS coach Leon Cameron took his players through a thorough review of the game upon their return to pre-season training, and Coniglio thinks it has helped the group realise where they were last year, and where they need to be this season.
"In terms of how it ended it was a great little (reality) check for us, and motivation within the group is right up there again," he said.
"I went away for a good chunk of time and it was easy for me to switch off, but every time something popped up about the AFL it was definitely in the back of my mind.
"For me personally it has to be a good thing in terms of me wanting to come back in good shape and go again towards hopefully another finals series, but I know I wasn't the only one in that situation, a lot of the boys are in the same boat.
"We did make a lot of mistakes (against the Bulldogs), and one of the points Leon did make was that we can ignore it, or we can review it and learn from our mistakes, and that’s one of the most important things we did.
"When that occasion might come next time, we're definitely better equipped to what we were."
Coniglio was a midfield star for the Giants in 2016, playing 23 games and breaking the club's season record for disposals with 644 at an average of 28 per week, kicking 12 goals, and laying almost six tackles per game, all career highs.
Desperately unlucky to miss out on All Australian selection after making the 40-man squad, the tough onballer is looking for a more positive start to 2017, after he spent round one in the NEAFL last year due to a pre-season hamstring injury, and was the Giants' sub a year earlier.
GWS has had its shortest pre-season training block after breaking its finals duck last year, and Coniglio said the players have handled it perfectly ahead of this week's opening JLT Community Series clash with West Coast in Narrandera.
"Usually we're back training on November 2nd and this year it was December 2nd, but for me, physically and mentally, I'm in a really good space," he said.
"The one thing I've learnt is that as you get older you get smarter in terms of what you do on your break, and your level of professionalism.
"We've always had high standards with the shape we come back in and making our 3km times and reaching the goals we set prior to Christmas.
"We're really looking forward to this JLT Community Series to try out a few things we've been working on and building towards round one against Adelaide."
