NEWLY crowned club champion Toby Greene has urged his teammates to be ruthless in 2017, saying anything less than a Greater Western Sydney premiership will be a failure.
Greene won his first Kevin Sheedy Medal on Friday night, and just like his senior coach Leon Cameron, and the likes of Stephen Coniglio, Tom Scully and Josh Kelly, spoke openly about still feeling the pain of the club's six-point preliminary final loss to the Western Bulldogs.
The Dogs eventually won the flag with a stunning 22-point win over the Sydney Swans last week, and Greene said getting so close to the last game of the year would drive GWS over summer.
While some in footy circles might not like to declare that a flag is the foremost thing on their minds, for fear of the pressure and expectations that might bring, Greene didn't mince his words.
"We're going into pre-season planning on winning a premiership, so if that doesn't happen we've failed," he said just minutes after being named the Giants' player of the year.
"I saw the (premiership) medal ceremony and obviously that makes you so much more hungrier.
"That’s where we want to be next year and that’s the plan.
"It's extremely tough to get there, and we thought we were a good chance of making the Grand Final this year, but it didn't happen.
"There's no guarantees next year but there's a fire in the belly and we want to be there."
Greene was a revelation this season playing as a high half-forward, after spending his first four years in the competition as a prolific midfielder, where he finished runner-up in the Sheedy Medal in his debut season in 2012.
The young star joked that coach Leon Cameron gave him an ultimatum earlier in the year, and the choice, if you could call it that, was an easy one.
"He just said, "If you want to play next week, you have to play half-forward", and I said all right I'll try and get a kick," Greene laughed.
"We just went from there; I managed to play my role and I learned every week.
"Leon (Cameron) is such a great coach and I love playing under him.
"He wants to achieve what we want to achieve and that’s the plan next year."
Greene also paid tribute to veteran Steve Johnson, who formed a potent partnership with his younger teammate after arriving from Geelong.
The pair kicked 87 goals between them in 2016.
"He's taught me so much this year and I love being around him," he said.
"He's been there, and none of us have done what he's done, so I'm going to hang off every word he says."
