Unhappy with being a spectator for Greater Western Sydney's biggest win on his home patch, Giants midfielder Jack Steele used the pain of missing the victory over Geelong two weeks ago to force his way back into the side.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
After kicking his first AFL goal on his old stomping ground, the Canberra product hopes he has done enough to hold his spot and play against St Kilda at the Docklands on Sunday.
If Giants coach Leon Cameron's comments about Steele's performance are anything to go by, then Steele should be making the trip.
Steele was dropped after the Giants' shock opening-round loss to Melbourne in round one and the former Belconnen and Gungahlin junior was sitting in the Manuka stands watching GWS beat Geelong the following week.
It was the Giants' best ever win in Canberra and the 20-year-old said missing out was a "massive" motivator for him to get back to the AFL.
Steele responded with 32 possessions and three goals the following week in the reserves and was brought back into the seniors.
The 86-point drubbing of Port Adelaide on Sunday was Steele's first win at Manuka Oval, and he picked up 17 disposals, five tackles and a goal.
"It was unbelievable to get my first win in Canberra and kick a goal. I saw the boys play against Geelong two weeks ago and I wasn't part of it," he said.
"It was massive [motivation] because obviously Geelong are a big club and we hadn't beaten them before so to get a win over them was something I wanted to be a part of and I did everything I could to play against Port."
Steele felt he started slowly against the Power, but finished off well in the last quarter.
He said consistency would be the key to him holding his spot in the side going forward after he'd been dropped for a "bad performance" against Melbourne.
"I'm not sure if they'll drop anyone after that sort of a win, but you never know. Hopefully not," Steele said.
"I just need to be consistent when I play. I got dropped when I played Melbourne, that was just a bad performance. So it's just about consistency to keep my spot because spots are tight at the moment."
Cameron will have a few decisions to make at the selection table this week, with star forward Jeremy Cameron returning from a four-game suspension.
Young guns Devon Smith (knee) and Will Hoskin-Elliott (quad) are also expected to return after missing the Power win.
Defender Nick Haynes and No.7 draft pick Jacob Hopper (38 possessions, two goals) both played well in the Giants reserves at Queanbeyan on Sunday.
"He was really, really good Jack and he'll be very stiff to leave him out, but he was fantastic. Nice and tough and hard," Cameron said.
Steele said the Giants would be wary of the Saints, who pushed reigning premiers Hawthorn to a three-point loss on the weekend.
"We won't take it for granted. We'll go down there and prepare well and hopefully get another win and make it three and two," he said.
"We'll have to be careful, we can't go into the game expecting a win. We just have to prepare like we did this week and everything should be fine."
