MERCURIAL forward Gryan Miers will use the burning disappointment of this year’s grand final loss to fuel his motivation and attack on the 2021 season.
Despite becoming just the second Cat to be named in the AFLPA 22 Under 22 side and playing every game in a Grand Final season, the 21-year-old Cat says he’s not easily satisfied.
“I’m quite passionate so I don’t think I’ll ever get over a grand final. Even if I won one later in my career it would be like, I could have won two, I could have won three," he says.
"I wasn’t too bad in the week after the game but it became worse when you leave it a little bit longer… once you realise how close it could have been it was a bit hard to think about.
"You can’t just hide it away and think it didn’t happen because it was a big thing in our lives and if we use it as motivation I think we can definitely win it this year and in coming years.
“I’ll definitely use it as motivation, I did that last year when we lost to Richmond in the prelim."
Miers is keen to attack some of the physical elements of his game to contribute to the overall improvement needed to go one step better in 2021.
"I’m very content with my season but there’s always things to improve on, I’m definitely not stoked with how I played all year, there were definitely stages where I wasn’t happy," he says.
"One for me is working on my power and acceleration, I think that will change my game a bit and hopefully I can work on that."
After months on the road, Miers has been revitalised by the return to Kardinia Park.
“It’s exciting to be back at our club, back at GMHBA Stadium and seeing the smiles on everyone’s faces.
"For me it’s seeing all my mates again and being able to work towards a goal and be back in a routine is pretty fun.
"Now everyone is rejuvenated and ready to go again."
Miers says the fresh feeling at GMHBA Stadium can also partly be attributed to the fresh faces walking the corridors.
“The people they’ve brought in aren’t short of star status," he says.
“To see Isaac (Smith), Shaun (Higgins) and Jeremy (Cameron) come in, it will be pretty exciting for everyone that’s a part of the club.
“Isaac has been with us the past two days and I came across Shaun (on Monday). I am not sure when Jeremy is starting but (I am) looking forward to getting them all in and training with them.
“It has always been massive, even Josh Jenkins last year, and Luke Dahlhaus and Gary Rohan and Jack Steven. All those guys coming in and having experience form another club and then reflecting on what was good about their club and bringing it to our club.
“We now have three experienced players, one who has played at two clubs and the other two have been at very successful clubs, so they will bring the good from those clubs to our club and hopefully that complements us well."
