Something still eats away at Port Adelaide defender Tom Clurey.
The 24-year-old is established at the elite AFL level; firmly entrenched in Port's backline.
Clurey has now played 56 AFL games, including one final - a game that still bugs him.
Clurey was part of Port's team dramatically beaten in last year's elimination final against West Coast by a goal after the extra-time final siren.
So how does the prospect of another finals campaign this year sit with him?
"Very determined," Clurey told AAP on Wednesday.
"And probably moreso because of the circumstances in how we went out last year.
"That eats away at you a fair bit and makes you more determined."
The Power are fifth - a win and percentage from top spot - entering Sunday's home game against Greater Western Sydney.
"We have a great opportunity to make the finals again and go deep," Clurey said.
"It's big month and half for us, to get that consistency and really find our form. This is when it starts heating up."
Clurey was born into a farming family at Invergordon in northern Victoria and played country footy as a kid for nearby Katamatite, about 45km north-east of Shepparton, where he was schooled.
Clurey grew up thinking playing footy as a job would be an "awesome gig".
But it wasn't until selected in Victoria Country under 16 ranks the notion felt attainable.
"When I got asked out to that, I thought that there was a possibility of getting drafted in a couple of years if I stick at it and it became real," he said.
Possessing natural speed and athleticism, Clurey made the 2012 TAC Cup - the under 18 Victorian competition - team of year while playing for the Murray Bushrangers.
At the draft combine, Clurey recorded 15.1 in the beep test: an astonishing result for a 193cm tall defender and the same score logged by GWS midfield star Josh Kelly a year later.
Drafted by Port with pick 29, Clurey quickly settled into Adelaide which he had visited only once before, finding the South Australian capital to be "nice and quiet ... a big country town".
But settling in the Power line-up took time: one AFL game in 2014 was followed by eight and nine in the next seasons.
"The first couple of years was tough but it makes you who you are today," Clurey said.
"It makes you a bit more determined ... when you finally get that opportunity, it makes you want to keep your spot even more."
Clurey has been a regular in Port's defence since the start of last season, when he played 23 games - including that final - and has played all bar one game this season.
