Western United will enter the new A-League Men season as champions, but coach John Aloisi is confident he will not have to worry about a post-success hangover.
United, who broke through to lift their first silverware last season, will kick off the defence of their title in Friday night's grand final rematch against Melbourne City at AAMI Park.
Aloisi insists the players have plenty of drive to kick on from last season's triumph.
"The hunger's there," the former Socceroo told AAP.
"A lot of teams have had success, and the things that you look for are if complacency creeps in or you lose a lot of players.
"We've kept the majority of the squad and there's been no complacency.
"All the players have come back really motivated, hungry, working hard."
United will be without marksman Aleksandar Prijovic and co-captain Alessandro Diamanti on Friday night, with both still working on their fitness.
But Aloisi backed the likes of Dylan Wenzel-Halls, Dylan Pierias and Nicolas Milanovic to fill the goalscoring void, and hopes new signing James Troisi can unlock defences.
"He's one of those players that can open up a team," Aloisi said of the veteran playmaker.
"If we're chasing a game, or a team's sitting off, he's got that final ball. At times last year, especially when Diamanti wasn't playing, we didn't have that type of player."
Cross-town rivals City have spent the off-season stinging after their 2-0 grand final loss but coach Patrick Kisnorbo is sure they can learn and grow from the hurt.
"I've always been one for, 'to succeed, sometimes you need to fail'," he told reporters on Thursday.
"I don't call the grand final a failure, I call it a learning moment because you don't win everything but the fact we've been there three years in a row says a lot about our group.
"It's a learning experience and hopefully we can grow from that because tough moments sometimes turn out in a better way and hopefully we can use that."
City have lost Connor Metcalfe since May's grand final but new signings Valon Berisha, Thomas Lam and Richard van der Venne are all expected to add quality and experience.
The game marks City captain Scott Jamieson's 300th league appearance.
"As the seasons have gone on and the harder it gets, he's always the one that's at the forefront ... of everything," Kisnorbo said.
"That's what a leader is. He hasn't let his age determine what he does."
