SIX WINS in a row including breaking their derby drought was probably indication enough of Greater Western Sydney's motivation at the moment but Stephen Coniglio's call that "we're a hungry bunch" only serves to sum up the Giants' aspirations further as September nears.
With Josh Kelly and Jack Buckley injured for the rest of the home and away season and Toby Greene suspended for this week, their stocks may be hit a touch ahead of another blockbuster encounter with the Western Bulldogs on Thursday night.
But these Giants have shown in recent years that when they gather momentum in the second half of the season, they're incredibly tough to stop regardless of personnel or venue circumstances.
Their epic third-quarter blitz of Sydney on Saturday night provided a strong warning of the zone they're currently in.
"We're a hungry bunch at the moment, we're optimistic about what's ahead in our journey," Coniglio said.
"We are making sure we don't look too far ahead, it's that tight at the moment, you can't. We want to finish as high as we can of course we're confident in our ability and what we can produce."
No stranger to leading the Giants on his own, Coniglio will captain the side this week in the absence of Kelly and Greene – the latter's suspension for striking Isaac Heeney, an untimely brain fade that he thought was behind him.
"He was disappointed and it's going to be disappointing not having him for this game. There was a big build-up to last week we hadn't beaten them in a long time and his emotions probably got the better of him," Coniglio said.
"Whenever he's walked the line, he's made some really good decisions over the last few years and its sparked some of our best performances. We just need more of those decisions.
"He's come a long way as a leader of this football club, no one more disappointed than him to miss this week."
Coniglio's form upon returning from a 16-week AFL injury layoff has been impressive with 19 touches and six tackles against Sydney helping take some of the midfield load off superstar duo Tom Green and Finn Callaghan.
"Those guys are so young but they're just so good – Tom and his stoppage stuff and then Finn and his goal on the weekend there's not too many players that can do that. I'm at an age now where you just want to help them out as much as possible but it's also nice to watch at times," he said.
"My body is feeling great, not having the impact for three or four months," said Coniglio who admits he's copped it from teammates following his Nat Fyfe botox revelation treatment to cure the nerve issue in his glute.
At 31 and with 222 games under his belt, Coniglio has seen it all at the Giants but he admits the spray Adam Kingsley gave them at half-time of the derby as they trailed by four goals was up there with the biggest he and the team have received.
"He doesn't do it too much, that was probably what got the boys caught offside a little bit. I probably felt it was coming but it worked. Let's hope he doesn't have to do it too many times," he said.
"It was an awesome third quarter, we needed to respond."
In another boost for the Giants, exciting defender Joe Fonti received this week's Rising Star award.
Playing in just his 17th game, he helped shut down Tom Papley in the second half win over the Swans. He admitted the Swans dangerman's name was circled on the whiteboard at half-time during the Kingsley bake and Fonti duly obliged in keeping him quiet.
He displayed plenty of the pace and composure down back to go with it, that has caught the eye early in his career.
After admitting he was battling to adjust to his new home shortly after being drafted out of Perth, he says settling down off the field has helped him produce his best footy.
"The performance comes off the back of being comfortable away from footy, just being happy mentally. Now that I've settled down everything's going well. That's where the performance comes," said Fonti.
