GREATER Western Sydney star Stephen Coniglio believes his side blew a golden opportunity to silence the doubters in Saturday's 10-point semi-final loss to Collingwood at the MCG.
GWS players have long spoken about their desire to be known as a hard-edged football side, rather than a talented bunch of high draft selections, and they had the chance to prove it to the footy world with a quarter to play against the Magpies.
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The home side led by just three points at three-quarter time after Giants forward Zac Langdon kicked the last goal of the term, but Collingwood stepped up its intensity when it was needed most.
After winning a vital centre clearance the Magpies kicked a goal through Travis Varcoe inside 60 seconds and had three in five minutes when Will Hoskin-Elliott and Jordan De Goey followed suit.
TOBY FAILS TO FIRE
The loss comes after consecutive preliminary final defeats for the Giants, and Coniglio said the way his side came out after the last change was most disappointing.
"The game was up (for grabs) in that first five minutes and they piled on three goals," he said on Sunday after arriving back in Sydney.
"I don't know exactly how they got them yet, I was obviously out there but I'll need to look back on it.
"It cost us in the end because from that stage we were always fighting to get back in it.
"We'll address it at some point but the bigger picture for us is how we can overcome this (setback).
"We want to be a team that wins premierships but at the moment we keep getting close and missing (out).
"It's a bit of a familiar feeling (after) the last couple of years, a real feeling of disappointment and (it was) a missed opportunity again."
WHO WAS WORST?
The Giants were just as slow to react to Collingwood's initial onslaught at the beginning of the clash, and if not for some poor finishing in front of goal from the home side, the game would have been over at quarter-time.
GWS did manage to stop the Magpies' momentum at stages in the opening half, but couldn't do it for long enough, even though the Giants hit the front and led by six points during the third term.
"They came out firing and we knew they were going to (do that), they had the crowd behind them, and full credit to them they played a great game," Coniglio said.
"We had our chances and had a couple of lapses in concentration that cost us, they kicked a goal with about 10 seconds to go in the first quarter and did it again in the second.
"We could have gone into half-time and it could have been a different story, but clearly they were the better team on the night."
The Giants' focus now switches to the upcoming NAB AFL Trade Period, with star midfielder Dylan Shiel the name that keeps being talked about, despite being contracted until the end of next season.
EASING THE SQUEEZE
Coniglio said he hasn't spoken to his fellow onballer about anything beyond this year but made it clear that he wants to be playing alongside Shiel in 2019.
"There's always going to be speculation but from my perspective, I want Dylan at this footy club and the same goes for all the other guys," he said.
"There's obviously a lot of rumours down in Melbourne and we don't hear the majority of them in Sydney.
"The thing about our group is that we've got so many talented players that a lot of other clubs want, and the fact is that we've got a lot of guys who are from Melbourne.
"I have full trust in the powers that be that they'll make the right calls."
