PORT Adelaide champion Kane Cornes says Greater Western Sydney needs to re-assess its list strategy in the off-season as the Giants pick up the pieces after their first-week finals exit.

The Giants have reached three finals series in three straight years under coach Adam Kingsley but have failed to progress past the preliminary final stage.

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Cornes says the Giants face a unique challenge with their list build, given they have historically been unable to recruit big-name players to western Sydney, meaning they have relied heavily on the draft to bring talented players to the club.

With club champion Callan Ward retired and the likes of Stephen Coniglio, Josh Kelly and Toby Greene all over 30, Cornes has questioned if the current group is capable of taking the club to an inaugural premiership.

"It is really difficult for them to recruit players, that's the reality," Cornes said on First Up. "Not many want to go there.

"What were the last big recruits they had? It's really difficult. They've essentially got to go through the draft and go again.

"So where are they at? Has this group – Kelly, Coniglio and Greene – got you as far as you're going to go? It probably feels that way to me. So strategic-wise, have they missed the window, have they missed the opportunity to get (a premiership)?

"It looks like they're running on fumes.

"They're a brave group, (Kingsley is) a really good coach, but I think they're going to have to sit down and really analyse honestly where their list is at.

"Do they need to go back a little bit, is there a possibility to recruit some players and top up and go again while Toby Greene is somewhat in his prime? Or do they need to be more aggressive, trade a couple out, go back to the draft and start to rebuild?

"I probably think it's the latter. I probably think this group has got as far as they are going to go in terms of winning it. And the last place you want to be is about that pick 12 or 13 in the draft; you don't want to be there. That's not going to be any good for you.

"They've got some strategic decisions to make in the off-season."

As reported in Inside Trading last month, the Giants are facing a list squeeze despite the likes of Leek Aleer (St Kilda), Wade Derksen (Melbourne) and Jacob Wehr (Port Adelaide) expected to depart in the off-season.

The Giants already have 35 senior-listed players contracted for 2026, three short of the maximum allowed of 38. It means if the club wants to be aggressive in the trade and free agency period, they will have to either trade some current players or delist and re-list them as rookies.

The loss to Hawthorn on Saturday was the fourth time in a row that the Giants have lost a final that they had led in the second half, with three of those defeats coming after they had led by 17 points or more. The cumulative margin of those four losses has been 31 points.

While acknowledging the club's injury issues this season, AFL.com.au's Damian Barrett says the past three campaigns have been a waste given their inability to hold their nerve in September.

"The Giants have had injury worries, I acknowledge that when I say the three years of Adam Kingsley's coaching has been a waste," Barrett said on Access.

"They've had the ability in each of those three years to make the Grand Final, and they haven't. It's a long off-season for Adam Kingsley and the Giants."