Collingwood defender Jeremy Howe, who required a painkilling injection to play the AFL grand final, insists his side have the platform to be great.
A hobbled Howe needed the jab because of an ankle injury he suffered in the Magpies' preliminary final victory over Richmond.
The high-flying Magpie doesn't require surgery to fix his foot but will go under the knife for a shoulder problem.
Howe expects to be sidelined for up to 12 weeks during an off-season that will be full of introspection.
The former Demon, who joined the Magpies in the 2015 trade period, believes his bitterly disappointed teammates will bounce back after their five-point loss to West Coast.
"You think about moments of the game. You think maybe, should I, if I," Howe told reporters on Sunday.
"You're going to be mentally exhausted if you keep doing that.
"What we do as a club is focus on what we have done, what we've been able to achieve.
"We've made unbelievable inroads ... we feel like we have the formula to be great.
"What we do is good enough and if we can do it for long enough then no side can beat us."
Howe noted it was important that Collingwood players "get away from footy for a bit", which for him will mean a trip to Europe.
"No doubt we're going to lean on each other for the next few days. Because it hurts," the Tasmanian said.
"But we'll dust ourselves off, 2019 will come around and we'll get the opportunity to go again.
"We'll come back in the pre-season and only improve on what we've done well this year."
Howe's ankle was a topic of intrigue last week but he insisted the injury had no bearing on his performance against the Eagles.
"I had an injection so it was numb," he said.
"It's a bit sore today but it was fine throughout the game.
"I don't think anybody out there yesterday was going in 100 per cent."
