Twelve months is a long time in football.
Plenty has changed for the Western Bulldogs in that period.
But some things have stayed the same, one of them being a seventh-placed finish in the home-and-away season and a must-win elimination final on the cards.
This time around, it will be St Kilda at The Gabba instead of the GWS Giants at Giants Stadium.
Experienced defender Taylor Duryea featured in that loss to the Giants, when the Bulldogs entered the finals with significant momentum – just like this year’s campaign.
He believes the Bulldogs have advanced a long way since that performance.
“You take what you can from last year’s performance, but I don’t think it just relates to a final,” Duryea told westernbulldogs.com.au this week.
“There’s so much to take out of that game for the growth of the group to put into any game, when a team is going to physically challenge you or when your back’s up against the wall.
“It’s something that’s helped build us as a team.”
Duryea believes the experience against the Giants helped prepare the group for a tough stretch leading into the 2020 finals, where they needed to win their final three games just to get into the top eight.
“It’s put us in good stead throughout the year, it’s helped us in these last three weeks when we needed to win,” he said.
“We’ve taken a lot out of last year.
The dual-premiership defender is preparing for his sixth finals series in the past eight years.
Despite the added pressure, getting the job done in finals requires a simple approach according to Duryea.
“Finals intensity is a thing, it does step up a bit,” he said.
“One thing I’ve learned is the teams who do well are the ones who stick to what they know and do it better and for longer than the opposition.
“If there is a learning out of last year, it’s just that if we stick to what we know we can get it done.”
