Before last year's breakout season, when they played finals football for the first time, almost six months would stretch between the club's final-round AFL game and its first of the following pre-season, with players reporting back to training as early as November 1.

It's been a much shorter turnaround this year, owing to the finals campaign which ended in the six-point preliminary final loss to the premiership-winning Western Bulldogs on the last weekend of September, less than five months ago.

The full playing list didn't reconvene until December 2 and head into the West Coast game with a month's less training than normal. Yet the gap between that preliminary final and now seems an eternity given the number of times the players have replayed that season-ending last quarter in their heads.

"I went away for a good chunk of time, it was easy for me to switch off but every time something would pop up about AFL it [the preliminary final] was definitely something in the back of your mind," midfielder Stephen Coniglio said.

"I know I wasn't the only one in that situation and a lot of the boys are in the same boat.

"For me personally it has to be a good thing, for me actually wanting to come back and come back in good shape and to go again and push forward in another AFL season, and then hopefully come the back end, another finals series.

"It was a little bit tough I guess the way it all ended, we obviously wanted to go another week further but the boys have come back with a great attitude."

The GWS coaching staff didn't review the preliminary final loss with the Giants' players until everyone was back at the club in early December, giving them more than two months to stew on the heartbreaking end to season 2016.

When the time came to re-watch the tape, it was a frank and honest review which Coniglio hoped would only spur his team onto greater success.

"When that occasion might come next time, we're definitely better equipped than what we were however many months ago," Coniglio said.

"In terms of the game and how it went, we did make a lot of mistakes. One of the points [coach] Leon [Cameron] did make is we can ignore it or we can actually review it and actually learn from our mistakes and that was one of the most important things that we did.

"The vibe around the group I think has improved on what it was last year and everyone being a year older and a couple of inclusions from elsewhere has helped that group.

"We had to let a few players go at the end of last year but that's just the modern-day aspect of the game now. I love the vibe that is [here] at the moment."

Coniglio is one of a host of stars sitting out the West Coast clash with 22-year-old Giant Josh Kelly to skipper the side in the absence of co-captains Callan Ward and Phil Davis.

Toby Greene, Heath Shaw, Jeremy Cameron, Tom Scully and Dylan Shiel will also be saved until the Giants' second pre-season game in two weeks against the Swans while Shane Mumford, Steve Johnson and Richmond recruit Brett Deledio miss out through injury.