If you want a job done, ask a busy person – someone like Chris Mayne.

The Collingwood veteran is among the AFL's busiest players, juggling commitments in different spheres.

Most public, of course, is Mayne's role as a defensive midfielder for the Magpies, and he'll probably get a specific job in the blockbuster against Richmond at the MCG on Thursday.

Outside the AFL, Mayne has another footy gig as a development coach with TAC Cup under-18 team Sandringham Dragons, and will help out on game days when time permits.

A Level 2 coaching graduate, he believes it's critical that a coach be a good people manager and relationship builder who shows genuine care for his players.

Mayne is following the path of many coaches before him by studying to be a teacher. Ideally, when he hangs up his boots he'll move seamlessly into coaching. A secondary aspiration is to become a PE teacher who oversees a school's football program.

"You've always got to work towards the next moment and the next thing," the 30-year-old told AFL.com.au.

For the past 11 years, Mayne has also been an ambassador for the Starlight Children's Foundation, a charity close to his heart given he was been born with a cleft palate and underwent multiple operations as a child.

"Seeing sick kids reminds you that footy's not everything. Life can be very cruel sometimes," he said.

The former Docker married fellow West Australian Britt Nicholas in Melbourne just 20 days after the Pies' gutting Grand Final loss to West Coast.

The wedding helped ease the pain of the defeat ever so slightly.

"Last year was a very exciting and fruitful year," said Mayne, who reignited his career with Collingwood last season.

"Not only was it a surreal feeling to be part of such a great club and play consistent footy throughout the year and build those relationships, but I also got the opportunity to have another crack at a Grand Final, knowing all along that I was also going to get married.

"I'm very lucky to have such an amazing wife who supports me through thick and thin and, more than anything, she guides me in the right direction."

A year earlier, after a deflating first season as a Magpie, Mayne was fighting just to stay on the list after playing the opening three games of 2017 before being banished to the VFL. Keen to transform himself from a forward to a midfielder, he spent the off-season working with veteran fitness guru Bohdan Babijczuk and offsider Dom Trimboli.

This time around Mayne continued the regime even while on his two-week honeymoon split between idyllic Byron Bay and Hamilton Island.

"It's in my nature to just keep working hard. My wife lives every bit of it during the season and pushes me to be my best, so we still hit the gym on our honeymoon," he said.

"You can't take much time off or you'll lose all the hard work you've done."

Three years ago Britt persuaded Mayne to embrace a vegan diet, which he says keeps him lean and aids recovery.

Some teammates have followed his lead by giving up dairy, but Mayne adds: "I don't try to preach to anyone. My attitude is, 'If you like what I'm doing, jump on board.'"

Many fans liked what Mayne did in the Grand Final when he laid a game-high 14 tackles in a typically team-first display.

Playing in Fremantle's 2013 Grand Final loss to Hawthorn proved a good lesson. He gave his all that day but felt he hadn't been consistent enough, so when he got another chance at a flag last year he benefited from simply "staying in the moment".

"(The loss) cut me deep. Everyone was hurting," he said.

"In footy, and life, it's about the next moment. The more you dwell on it, the more it plays a part. We've got some really strong leaders and characters at the club who have looked to the next moment, and that's our 2019 campaign.

"Nothing from last year is going to get us victories this year. We've seen already that if we're not at our best, we'll get beaten. The next opportunity for us to respond is against Richmond."

Now in the third year of a four-year deal, Mayne has added an important defensive element to the Magpies' much-vaunted midfield. He largely credits assistant coaches Robert Harvey (midfield and transition) and Garry Hocking (stoppages), along with skipper Scott Pendlebury and fellow leader and midfielder Taylor Adams, with helping him lift his game to the next level.

"Even though it's my 12th season, there are always things you can improve," he said.

Although Mayne has played all 22 games since round six last year, experience has taught him to take nothing for granted.

"I'm still building trust among my teammates and the coaches. You can't afford to think your seat's safe because there are always younger players pushing up," he said.

He's only three games shy of 200 – a milestone that appeared unlikely a year ago – but in Mayne's mind it's not yet a formality.

"Hopefully I get there – you can't look too far ahead in footy," he said.