Giants ruckman Kieren Briggs loves nothing more than playing September footy, but he knows to never take the opportunity to play on the big stage for granted.
The Giants qualified for this season’s AFL Finals in fifth position, even though they enjoyed a club equalling record amount of wins with 16 victories for the year.
Despite their largely dominant season, the Giants missed out on the top four on percentage points – making every game from here on in a must-win showdown.
Speaking with Parra News from Giants HQ, the 25-year-old said playing Finals footy is something he cherishes.
“We’re back in the Finals and we don’t take that for granted,” Briggs said.
“The team that missed this year [Western Bulldogs] is arguably the unluckiest team in history to miss Finals. We had equalled most wins in our team’s history and still finished outside of the top four.
“This year’s spots were tight as… you’ve got to cherish each year you’re in Finals. When you get those moments to play in those big games, you’ve got to stand up.”
Last year, the Giants failed to stand up. Despite finishing in the top four and being one of the favourites for the flag, they were eliminated in straight sets.
Briggs said his side are far more connected this year than last and hopes that the many close games the Giants have played this season will put them in good stead playing sudden-death footy.
“I think we thrive on pressure,” he said.
“We’ve had many close games this year and that’ll take us a long way in this Finals Series, especially because games now are going to be close and it’s going to be which team stands up to the pressure.
“We’ve been there the past two years now and not quite finished it off. We’ve definitely done the work and hopefully we can get it done this year.”
When the Giants tackle Hawthorn in an Elimination Final this Saturday afternoon at ENGIE Stadium, Briggs will have 60 of his nearest and dearest coming to watch.
“I grew up in Parramatta, so it’s always great to have the Finals buzz around,” he said.
“The energy lifts each week and hopefully we can keep it going for a few weeks.
“We’ll get this week done first and see what happens after that.”
Saturday’s game gets underway at 3.15pm.
Nathan Taylor is Parra News' sports journalist. He also compiles the weekly Chatter on the Box TV column. Nathan is an award-winning journalist, who has worked in western Sydney media for more than a decade.