Stephen Coniglio's ability to inspire and develop relationships on and off the park has been tipped as the reason the GWS Giants can go one step further in 2020.
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Coniglio was announced as the Giants' new captain last week, taking over from veteran co-captains Phil Davis and Callan Ward.
Davis was at South Dubbo Oval on Friday and took some time out from running clinics with local juniors to speak about the change in leadership.
"It's exciting for the club," he said.
"Cal and I have spoken for many years about the right time and after talking to the club this was that time.
"Stephen is ready and I think will do a great job for the club and hopefully take us to that next level of success."
The next level is a premiership after the Giants were blown off the park in this year's grand final.
The side suffered an 89-point thumping at the hands of Richmond and while the need for improvement and continual development is an obvious focus in the off-season, Davis also thinks Coniglio's leadership can play a big role in that.
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"There's a few aspects. He's a terrific performer and is very consistent and he sets the standard on the field and how he trains," Davis said of the 25-year-old Coniglio.
"But off the field he's got a great level of empathy and ability to build relationships with people around the club and that's vital in this modern day."
The new leadership, the addition of Sam Jacobs from Adelaide and promising additions from the draft has created a buzz around the club following the pain of the grand final loss.
Each year since the club's debut in 2012 has seen improvement and Davis is determined to see that continue.
"We've taken steps forward and the last four years we've played finals and to win a final was great," he said.
"Last year we did some really impressive stuff. Obviously the last day in September didn't go the way we wanted to and we were disappointed but we got beat by a better side on the day.
"But we feel we're in an exciting time. Our list is in a good spot for 2020 as well."
The big thing now is turning that talent into even better performances.
"I think we're always looking to improve and our game is all about improving more than the people chasing you," Davis added.
"We've got to improve the difference between Richmond and ourselves plus how much Richmond have improved on last year.
"All teams are trying to get better and if you don't improve you go backwards in our game so we've got to keep hunting improvement because we're hungry and ambitious for the ultimate success."