Isaac Quaynor has a confession to make.
The talented teenager admits he wasn't completely honest with the Magpies in his debut season – and he learned his lesson the hard way.
Leading into Collingwood's clash with eventual premier Richmond at the MCG in round 19, Quaynor felt increasing discomfort in his left foot.
He knew the right thing to do would be to raise it with the Pies' medical team, but he stayed silent.
The club's top pick at No.13 in last year's NAB AFL Draft, Quaynor had played the previous three games since making his much-anticipated debut, and felt he was improving with each outing.
The 19-year-old half-back flanker was determined not to surrender his spot or let his team down as injuries and losses hit the Pies' premiership hopes.
Quaynor took the field against the Tigers and paid the price. After the 32-point loss, he had a foot issue he could no longer hide.
Scans revealed a "hot spot", or stress reaction, that required time on the sidelines. The only positive was that it hadn't become a stress fracture.
Quaynor had initially hoped to make a late-season return but that plan was soon abandoned. By then he'd experienced pain in his back and groin, both of which emanated from a hip problem. The foot and hip issues are believed to have been connected.
In mid-September, when his teammates were headlong into their finals campaign, Quaynor underwent arthroscopic surgery that shaved off some bone from his right hip.
"It was the first time I'd been to hospital for an injury or anything," Quaynor told AFL.com.au.
"It was only minor surgery, but hopefully it's the answer I needed and it eradicates all those problems I had this year and I'm right to go next year. Only time will tell, but I feel pretty good."
Quaynor had his first light run in nine weeks when the first-to-fourth-year players started pre-season training last Monday. He expects to be back in full training after Christmas.
His previous longest stint on the sidelines was just two weeks – after suffering fractures in both a thumb and a rib while representing Vic Metro against the Allies in last year's NAB AFL U18 Championships.
Quaynor's surgical experiences didn't end there. Little more than a week before returning for the pre-season, he had his four wisdom teeth removed.
"I was in agony for a few days … I'd never had surgery before and, suddenly, here I am having two surgeries in a few months," he said.
Despite the bittersweet experience of watching his teammates get within a straight kick of another Grand Final berth, Quaynor believes he'll be "better off" as a result.
"The biggest learning curve for me this year was about reporting injuries, and being honest about it," he said.
"In my last game I tried to be a hero by playing with a bit of a sore foot, when in hindsight I shouldn't have played.
"I wasn't honest enough with the physios. That's because I really wanted to play every week. It's a typical young player thing to do, but I'll learn from that.
"You can never be too honest with the physios. Even if it's only a niggle, it could lead to something quite serious if you don't get onto it.
"I also didn't know my body well enough, and didn't pay enough attention to the signals it was giving me.
"In future, if it means missing a week and trying to fight my way back in the VFL for a couple of weeks, so be it. I'd rather do that than miss the rest of the season like I did this year when, if things had been different, maybe I could have played finals."
Quaynor, who will turn 20 in January, was made to wait for his debut after seeming a good chance for an early-season opportunity. After being an emergency for eight successive games, he missed a VFL game with a groin strain before being granted his AFL debut the next week in the narrow loss to Hawthorn.
"Early in the season I was watching some of my mates playing from round one and it was a bit frustrating. I was thinking, 'Why can't I be out there as well?' But those (10) games I played in the VFL were super-important for my confidence," he said.
"When I debuted I didn't even feel that nervous. I just felt like I was ready to go, like I'd put the time and the hard work in and it was my time to shine."
Blessed with a muscular body, which he has worked hard on through his teens, Quaynor was "quite comfortable" with the physicality of AFL footy, but he initially felt like he was "playing hot potato – as soon as I got the ball I felt like I was getting smacked from every angle".
"My growth from game one to game four was huge. Having a season under my belt, I feel I can attack this pre-season with more confidence than last year," he said.
Quaynor, who is contracted to 2022 after signing a two-year extension in July, wants to improve his game in all areas but is particularly keen to become more consistent with his kicking on either foot.
At the moment, though, he's just happy to be able to kick and run on those feet again.
