Cam Rayner was in awe of the occasion in his first grand final, didn't have an impact and felt the crushing disappointment of defeat.
Now the Brisbane Lions showstopper is ready for the big stage.
Rayner, 24, had just 11 disposals and went goalless in last year's four-point defeat to Collingwood, a big-stage flop that has him burning for his second shot at silverware.
"I don't necessarily base my game off disposals but I just felt like I didn't really have much of an impact last year," Rayner said ahead of facing Sydney at the MCG on Saturday.
"So whether that be the case this year, I want to make sure I can turn it around and really have an impact, stay connected with my teammates and hopefully get the result."
Rayner overcame a quiet first half against Geelong to turn last week's preliminary final on its head, racking up 14 disposals and kicking two goals in an awe-inspiring second half.
But his new-found confidence is down to building consistency across his year, where he's booted a career-high 30 goals.
That includes putting in the mental hard yards to keep himself in the game when he's struggling to get space.
"I've never been one to go into my shell at all, to be honest," he said.
"I'm lucky that I've always had that. My parents have brought me up that way.
"But I feel like the thing that I've been working on is ... probably from the outside world, people see that if you've only had a couple of touches, you might not have an impact on the game.
"But if I can do other things to impact the game and help my teammates, I feel like I'm staying connected, then it'll just be a matter of time before I start to turn the corner."
Rayner has gradually learnt how to handle the No.1 draft pick tag he earned in 2017.
"In the first couple of years I was probably reading into it a little bit and ... probably trying to size myself up against people that have gone through similar things," he said.
"But as you get older you just realise that after you're drafted ... it doesn't really mean that much."
Now he believes he can join Drew Banfield, Des Headland, Luke Hodge and Tom Boyd as the only top picks to win a flag.
"To be able to come to the club when it was probably not at its highest point, to now be able to turn it into one of the best clubs in the competition, it's super-exciting," he said.
"Hopefully we can get the win on the weekend and really top it all off."
