UNSURPRISINGLY, Tom Papley was in the middle of the Sydney Derby storm.
That meant an afternoon of battles, bite and bickering for his opponent, Connor Idun.
The young Giant doesn't normally like to get involved in any niggling tensions with the man he's down to mark, but on Saturday it became unavoidable given he spent much of the game as the target of Papley's ire.
"He's obviously one of the best small forwards in the game," Idun told AFL.com.au.
"I love going up against him. It's a little bit chirpy here and there, but I respect him. I don't know if he respects me, but nonetheless I love playing on him. Whenever I get the opportunity to play on him, I love it. It's good competition.
"There was a bit of feeling in it. I don't usually get caught up in the argy-bargy stuff, but I did on the weekend. I respect everyone on that team, so it's just a bit of white line fever. We were playing for a lot in finals, so that's always going to happen.
"We were up for the fight and so were they. They're the games you love to play. Obviously, you want to win them. But it's great to be part of. The crowd at the SCG was pretty loud as well, so it was a good experience."
The nature of Greater Western Sydney's heartbreaking six-point loss will undoubtedly sting this week for the Giants, given they held a 28-point buffer late in the first half, but a bonding session on Sunday has already cleared some demons.
A series of Giants players caught up the day after the defeat to air their thoughts, forgive and forget, then ready themselves for a must-win semi-final against the Lions in a week's time.
"We all had a few moments in the game that we'd love to take back," Idun said.
"Obviously, we're pretty disappointed. We feel like we let one slip there. But we took the day to lick the wounds and debrief with a few of the boys. We've all come in on Monday with a good attitude and we're ready to go for next weekend.
"It's important to have those talks with the boys and let each other know how we're feeling. After you have those chats, it's pretty clear that we all want to pull in the same direction and we need to get up for this weekend.
"We can take so much belief that our brand of footy stacks up against the best. We were proud of the first three quarters and we felt unstoppable out there. We know if we replicate that for four quarters, we'll win every game we're in."
The Giants will also take plenty of belief from their record against their semi-final opponent in the Lions, with Adam Kingsley's side securing two big wins both times they have played this season.
On the first occasion, the Giants belted the Lions by 54 points on Anzac Day. The second, just last month, saw them reel in a 30-point deficit to record a barnstorming three-goal win.
Idun played on Brisbane jet Cam Rayner both times, holding him goalless in August and breaking a run of six consecutive matches where the Lions star had kicked multiple goals.
"I don't know who I'll get yet, but I usually play on Cam," Idun said.
"If I do get that opportunity again, I'd love to play on him. He's one of the best and, like with Tom Papley, I love playing on the best forwards every weekend. It'll be good competition, if that is to happen."
While the qualifying final defeat to the Swans might have given the Giants a bit of a knock, there remains an intense belief among Kingsley's side that it can still go on and win a maiden premiership for the club later this month.
"100 percent," Idun said. "We've still got full belief we can get it done this year."
