A MONTH out of the AFL side was exactly the wake-up call Greater Wester Sydney ruck Kieren Briggs needed to rediscover his best form after a relatively quiet start to the year.

Briggs was pivotal to his side's record-breaking 14-goal third quarter in Sunday's 78-point win over Brisbane, collecting 20 disposals, five clearances, and 26 hitouts against opponents Sam Draper and Darcy Fort.

That sort of performance seemed a distant prospect when the GWS Academy product was dropped after round three. He spent four weeks out of the senior side and played two games in the VFL after coach Adam Kingsley opted for high-leaping young tall Nick Madden.

However, a knee injury to Madden in round seven against North Melbourne opened the door for Briggs to return the following week against Gold Coast, and he hasn't looked back since.

Briggs said the circumstances of his return were a good reminder that "you have to take your chances when they come your way".

"'Kingers' (Kingsley) probably put it on me. I probably needed a bit of a whack," Briggs told AFL.com.au in the rooms after the stirring win over Brisbane. 

"I was getting a bit of it; I was playing OK. It could have been an easy choice for him just to leave me in the side, but (you) go back, work, and get some confidence. 

"This game will be a good stepping stone into hopefully the back half of the year."

Briggs also pushed back against the narrative that the AFL's new ruck rules had robbed him of his effectiveness at the elite level. 

The changes – scrapping the traditional centre bounce in favour of a ball-up and forbidding rucks from crossing the centre line before engaging – were specifically designed to eliminate heavy wrestling and encourage athletic, jumping rucks to leap at the ball.

The adjustment forced the League's more physical rucks – including Briggs – to rethink their approach to contests.

"I keep getting told that the rules killed me, but I don't know. It's sort of all noise," he said. 

"I'm just trying to disrupt, jump, and once the ball hits the ground, that's when I can come to life. 

"So, if I can keep doing that and disrupting it, and then the boys get to work at ground level, and I can join in, then."

While Briggs is locked in at GWS until the end of the season following a two-year extension in 2023, his long-term future at the club is still up in the air.

Coming to the end of his deal, the proven prime ruck could use his status as an unrestricted free agent to secure a long-term deal at a rival club where he is more certain of claiming the No.1 mantle, with rucks often in high demand in the year-end player movement period. 

"I've heard a bit about it. It is what it is. It's a part of footy," Briggs said of the mounting trade talk. 

"We'll see what happens in the back end of the year, but not too worried. Whatever happens, happens. I'd love to stay here."