South-west export says his Giants will need to go up a level

The Giants were beaten by Richmond 17.12 (114) to 3.7 (25) at the MCG in front of a 100,000-strong crowd.

"We were disappointing today but we're not despondent," Cameron told The Standard.

"We need to let the dust settle and then make decisions like every other footy club and then reload and go again."

The Giants mentor said his team would need to go up a level next season to compete with Richmond at the pointy end.

"To get to a grand final is a great achievement but then you've got to be able to stand up and Richmond were too good for us," he said.

"Credit where credit is due, they were a bit too good for us.

"We need to learn, we need to raise the bar five or 10 per cent to compete against that club in that last Saturday in September."

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Cameron said his side would not be defined by its first grand final appearance.

"You're not defined by one game, you are defined by year after year of turning up, we feel as though we're doing that," he said.

"But clearly there's another level we need to find."

Cameron said his club was growing the game in western Sydney with 30,000 members.

He said he was grateful for all the support he had received from the south-west this week.

"There are a lot of good people there, I've got a lot of good school friends and a lot of footy friends," he said.

"It's great that they support a local person.

"And they would have watched the grand final.

"I thank them all.

"My mother lives down there.

"She's a very passionate Warrnambool person."

Jeremy Cameron, who hails from Dartmoor, kicked the Giants first ever goal in a grand final.

He booted the opening goal of the match will a long bomb from 50 metres.

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