He would know - Shaw has done the gruelling pre-season training sessions and the week to week grind of AFL football for 14 years.

That's why the two-time All Australian is hoping an extended off-season break and a stint in Ireland will hold him in good stead as he eyes a seventh preliminary final in 10 years.

Shaw attended GWS' two-day camp in the Blue Mountains in December before travelling to Ireland over the Christmas period as the club looks to help him bounce back from a late-season lull in 2017.

Now the 32-year-old believes he will be firing on all cylinders when the Giants open their season against the Western Bulldogs at Manuka Oval on Sunday.

"It was good just to mix it up a little bit and do something a bit different," Shaw said.

"I mapped out something I wanted to do, where I wanted to get to, and how I was going to get there. It was really flexible the way I did it.

"I spent a few weeks over in Ireland training, which was a bit different to the 40 degree out west - it was about four degrees in Ireland.

"It was just something I wanted to try to do to mix it up a bit because pre-season can get a bit stale. When you're driving out to the same training field and doing the same drills day in, day out, it can get a bit tedious.

"For me it was really refreshing. I came back in really good shape and everyone was happy with it - so hopefully I can do that again next year."

Shaw laughs he has his eye on a trip to Portugal or Spain next year, but first he has to tend to the small matter of helping the Giants to a flag.

The Giants have reached back to back preliminary finals but haven't kicked on to the decider, and Shaw isn't expecting to fall off the radar this season.

He is adamant the Giants have "the right personnel, the right players and the right game style" to be maintain their status as a genuine threat.

"If you stand still you go backwards in this competition so you have to keep progressing, you have to keep mixing it up, you have to keep adjusting to the game and how it's played," Shaw said.

"We definitely have done that over the last couple of years and we will do that again this year. Whether that takes us that step further is to be confirmed as they say but we think we're in a really good place."

The Giants are now without star attacking defenders Nathan Wilson [Fremantle] and Zac Williams [ruptured Achilles], which makes Shaw's already crucial combination with Phil Davis and Adam Tomlinson even more important.

Coach Leon Cameron went searching for answers to plug the gaps in the pre-season and Shaw thinks he has found plenty of them.

Shaw says Isaac Cumming and Harry Perryman can fill the void, while Lachie Whitfield thrived in the backline during the pre-season.

"I said to him 'mate, if you didn't want to be a backman you shouldn't have played well, because you'll stay there'," Shaw said.

"Each year you have to make changes to your list and to your game plan, so that's what keeps you fresh and our team is excited about that.

"A few fresh faces coming in, and a few fresh faces for round one against the Bulldogs in Canberra. We're really excited about that first game."

AFL ROUND ONE

Sunday: GWS Giants v Western Bulldogs at Manuka Oval, 1.10pm. Tickets from Ticketek. TV: Live on Fox Footy.