If there is one man in Australian sport who knows how to move on from a Grand Final loss, it is NRL legend Cooper Cronk.

The two-time Dally M Medallist won two premierships at Melbourne Storm and two more at the Sydney Roosters, but also lost three Grand Finals during his time in purple – and had two more stripped off him due to the salary cap scandal.

That’s effectively five lost Grand Finals for one of the most decorated players Australia has produced.

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Round 18

And it is Cronk’s ability to bounce back from the toughest losses of all that Greater Western Sydney is hoping makes them win in 2020 and beyond.

Josh Kelly crawls along the sand at Noosa Main Beach. Photo: John McCutcheon / Sunshine Coast Daily Source: News Regional Media

Months after tying a bow around his brilliant 375-game career by going back-to-back with NRL powerhouse Sydney Roosters, Cronk held court inside the Noosa Heads Surf Lifesaving Club in his new role as the Giants’ leadership consultant in December.

While the rest of Noosa set up for another day on the beach or strolled down Hastings Street, the Giants sat down for two hour-long sessions with Cronk to dive into the disaster that was September 28 at the MCG.

Unlike Melbourne, which refused to reflect on its 2018 preliminary final defeat to West Coast, the Giants felt the only way to look forward was to look back, regardless of how brutal or painful the process was.

Leon Cameron’s men were embarrassed on the final Saturday of the season. The 89-point defeat handed Richmond its second flag in three years but consigned GWS’ players and coaches to three months of soul-searching. Only when they arrived in Noosa did the healing process truly take shape.

The Giants look dejected after the 2019 AFL Grand Final loss to Richmond. Source: Getty Images

And plenty had changed by the time the Giants arrived on the Sunshine Coast for a week-long training camp ahead of Christmas. They had a new captain in Stephen Coniglio. Lachie Whitfield had just inked a seven-year deal and Wayne Campbell had been sacked as head of football. But they hadn’t sat down and discussed the Grand Final loss in great detail.

Star midfielder Tim Taranto, who won the Kevin Sheedy Medal after a brilliant 2019, revealed to foxsports.com.au the sessions with Cronk helped put a full stop on the most painful day in the club’s short history.

Dustin Martin fends off Tim Taranto on Grand Final day. Source: AAP

“Everyone got to open up and put their two cents in about what they thought and how they are feeling now currently. It was good to hear from everyone and have people open up about it,” Taranto said after the Giants returned to pre-season on Monday.

“No one is really talking about it anymore. We have moved on and it is probably a good thing about being up in Sydney. We don’t have a constant reminder of that game.

“Cooper Cronk talked about his experiences with Grand Final losses. He was such a successful NRL player and played in so many finals and experienced some big losses as well.

“He spoke about how he handled the situation and got everyone to chime in with their own thoughts. Everyone was different; some were angry; some were embarrassed; some were confused; everyone had their own emotions, as you would expect.

“It was good to hear how everyone was feeling and you got a good understanding of how people were feeling on the day. I don’t think everyone will forget it, but it was a good reminder that things happen and you can be angry about it and let it ruin the next year or you can take it in your stride and learn from it.”

Cooper Cronk is chaired off following the 2019 NRL Grand Final. Source: AAP

And while those two sessions inside one of the most iconic watering holes in Queensland could prove pivotal in the Giants’ 2020 campaign, they also banked a big training block before the break.

The Giants broke up the week with main training sessions at Maroochydore Sports Complex, 60-minute cross training workouts inside a steaming hot gym with every player on the list side by side, and Mark McVeigh ran challenges on the main beach while holidays goers watched on while eating acai bowls, unsure of who the 50 men in speedos were or what they were doing.

Former Roosters NRL premiership star Cooper Cronk has been appointed to a Leadership Development role with the GWS Giants. Picture: Toby Zerna Source: News Corp Australia

While the football department was there for the week, the rest of the club flew up for the final two days of the camp, where every employee and player ate dinner together on the final night of the 2019 program before going their separate ways for the break.

“We had a massive training session on the last morning and had a big dinner that night at the surf club with more than 100 people from the club. The whole club was there so it was great to be everyone after such a big year. We are a big family at the Giants,” Taranto said.

This time last year, Billy Slater was being celebrated for his impact at St Kilda.

Cronk, who played alongside Slater for 14 years, may have already delivered the injection GWS were craving to cleanse itself of Grand Final demons.