THE NEXT six minutes might be the hardest six minutes the Giants endure all week.

"We're going to watch it back," Adam Kingsley says to his players.

A fortnight ago, amid an epic clash at Giants Stadium, a last-gasp goal from Richmond's Marlion Pickett – drilled with just 24 seconds remaining – grabbed victory from the grasp of Greater Western Sydney's hands. It was a brutal way to lose a thrilling contest.

Now, barely 48 hours later, it was time to review. The players, given the Monday off, have filtered into the VALO Community Centre throughout Tuesday morning and gather in the team's auditorium for the sobering wash-up.

AFL.com.au was granted exclusive access to the team's first session following the heartbreaking defeat. Or, in terms of the way Kingsley views it, the first session ahead of rectifying things against North Melbourne one week later.

***

THE LIGHTS go out, the projector fires up, and the six minutes begin.

The dying stages of Sunday's defeat might have been hard to swallow. But on Tuesday, they'll be revisited. Throughout a largely uninterrupted stretch, where Kingsley pauses the vision only once or twice, the game's final six minutes are replayed to his players.

Whether good or bad, the Giants have already had plenty of learning opportunities this season. This will be another one. Remarkably, 11 of their first 12 games have been decided by 21 or fewer points. They have hardly done anything, be it winning or losing, easy.

On this occasion, there are plenty of positives. Trailing by one point when the six minutes begin, there are reasons for optimism as the Giants attack and eventually take the lead with just over three minutes remaining through Kieren Briggs' goal.

But there is also constructive feedback, be it defensively when Dion Prestia replies from the resulting centre clearance or offensively when the game is tied for much of its final two minutes.

The bulk of that feedback is delivered by the players, speaking up in front of the group, rather than from Kingsley or his assistants. It revolves around maintaining composure and staying in an aggressive mindset, regardless of the situation.

There is no ranting or raving, either. The details that are pointed out, be it from the players or the coaches, are delivered calmly and methodically. As was the case back in pre-season, the Giants use every training session as an educational opportunity. Everything is about looking forward, not back.

There is also a focus on communication. After a frantic passage with four minutes left, Kingsley takes the decision to pause the vision. He wants to know how many players were informing their teammates of how much time remained in the contest.

Sunday's fourth term was a unique quarter, lasting nearly 39 minutes. Cards on the bench, as they do at most clubs, signify how long there is left to play. So, were the Giants players informing their teammates of how long was on the clock? It's another subtle, but important feature to point out.

Kingsley would later acknowledge the difficulty of keeping your cool late in a tied game. But what they've trained, the fundamentals and the details within their game, should always prevail. "You know the way," he says.

***

NOT EVERYTHING had to be doom and gloom for the Giants, though.

Yes, the AFL side might have given up Pickett's goal with 24 seconds left. Yes, the VFL side might have lost to Jacob Bauer's goal after the siren earlier in the morning. But it had been a humorous start on Tuesday.

As the players began to congregate in the auditorium before the bruising film session, they were met by a picture of Kingsley's smiling face on the projector.

"This was me last week," he said, pointing to his headshot. He was, of course, referring to their upset victory over Geelong at GMHBA Stadium the previous round.

"And this was me this week," he followed, as the picture behind him exploded on-screen.

It was a not-so-subtle gag, but it did its job. Almost immediately, the tension in the room evaporated. Tuesday's meeting was difficult, but the Giants are a young group. Education is key, and there is no value in Kingsley's players being scared to engage.

"Did it look like a Giants game?" Kingsley soon asks. "Did it feel like a Giants game?"

The answer on that Sunday was, for the most part, yes. The Giants had 70 inside 50s against Richmond – their most in a game since 2019 – they battled back from as much as 29 points down, and led with as late as three minutes to go.

But a disappointing opening quarter, where Richmond kicked six goals from stoppage and surged into a commanding four-goal lead at the first change, proved to be the hosts' undoing. While the momentum broke when the siren sounded for the second term, it didn't during the game's opening 30 minutes.

"How do we catch that mid-quarter next time?" Kingsley asks. It's a question that reflected a common theme. There is very little dwelling. Instead, the messaging from the club's coaching group revolved around improving for next time.

***

"OK, now we plant the seed."

After leaving the auditorium, the players split into three groups and begin line rotations.

In offence training, conducted by Craig Jennings, they watch vision of an attacking passage and share among each other potential areas for improvement both from a positioning perspective and from a ball movement perspective.

In defence training, led by Brett Montgomery, they cycle through a series of plays featuring Richmond in possession to tweak their defensive structures behind the ball. Once again, the players take accountability to get "tighter on the detail".

In stoppages training, handled by Ben Hart, a number of players mark positional changes they would make at a series of ball-ups and throw-ins. "Success takes time," Hart repeatedly tells his troops.

After a heavy start to the day's session, marked by the replay of Sunday's narrow defeat, the short and sharp clips shown throughout the line meetings are a clever way of throwing forward to next week.

There is always another game, and last Sunday that came in Tasmania against North Melbourne. This was where the lessons of the Tuesday prior, and the ones that followed throughout the week, would finally be enacted. Kingsley would have been pleased with what then played out.

Where the week before the Giants had been unable to halt Richmond's momentum until quarter-time – "How do we catch that mid-quarter next time?" was Kingsley's question to his players in their review meeting – on Sunday, they fought from 12 points down in the opening term to boot five unanswered goals on either side of the first change.

Where they had questioned their late-game composure against the Tigers – "You know the way," Kingsley had told his players – on Sunday, they successfully battled their way out of a one-score game late in the third quarter to kick four straight majors and build the foundations for their 28-point win.

It was progress. A fifth victory from 13 had been secured, and another building block in Kingsley's grand plan set down. The halfway point of season one has been reached, and the signs of improvement are evident.