A wasted opportunity.
Tom Green won't beat around the bush about their AFL semi-final loss to the Brisbane Lions.
Finishing in the top four for the first time since 2017, the Giants let a 44-point lead slip on Saturday night at Engie Stadium and were knocked out, going down 105-100.
Their five-point loss comes after they coughed up a 28-point lead against Sydney to lose by six points in a qualifying final last weekend.
A despondent Green labelled their straight-sets finals exit as a "seriously wasted opportunity".
"Finishing top four, losing a qualifying final by a goal and then a semi by five points, having leads in both games ... a wasted opportunity we've cost ourselves," he said.
"We'll put that (positive) spin on after some time. I think it's just going to hurt."
Green desperately tried to lift his side against the Lions, finishing with a game-high 33 disposals, 10 clearances, 21 contested possessions, 15 ground-ball-gets, eight score involvements and one goal.
Asked what was going through his mind as Brisbane mounted their challenge, the midfielder's answer was simple.
"Try win the ball and get it coming our way," he said.
"We sort of arrested the momentum (at three-quarter time). They got going into the third and kicked a couple back.
"(The three-quarter time message) was pretty positive. We were going to go out and win the game and we just didn't execute.
"It's going to burn over summer, and something that we're going to have to work on because we know that finals are close.
"If we get a look to win finals and win a premiership, we can't keep serving that up."
Green denied the Giants struggled at the contest without fellow midfielder Stephen Coniglio.
Coniglio was subbed out of the game with a cheekbone injury after a collision with Lions defender Harris Andrews near the end of the first quarter, with GWS yet to discover the extent of his injury.
Xavier O'Halloran joined the fray as Coniglio's replacement and took 10 disposals and a goal.
"I don't know if it rattled us," Green said.
"I suppose it's tough in that you lose a quality player like that, that you love to be out there, but after that, we managed to bang on a fair few goals.
"I don't think it rattled us, necessarily, but you miss having a quality player just probably out there."
