COLLINGWOOD midfielder Jordan De Goey is having a breakout month of football.
He can add his career-high four goals on Sunday against West Coast to his career-high 32 disposals against Hawthorn in round 15 to a small but growing brief of evidence to support that statement.
The month might be a sign that the No.5 pick from the 2014 NAB AFL Draft is maturing.
It's certainly an indication that if he can get things right off the field, he is as good as anyone on it, a draft selection no one can criticise.
His coach Nathan Buckley has never doubted De Goey's talent but he also knows hard work was needed to bring out the right results.
Now, De Goey is starting to recognise there might be some truth in what the coaches have been telling him.
"It's a hard game, AFL. If you can get that consistency right in your preparation you go in with great confidence about what you have done previously," De Goey told AFL.com.au.
Perhaps it took the pre-season incident when he was suspended and ridiculed after lying about his involvement in a fight for the penny to drop.
Buckley agrees De Goey is tracking in the right direction but he warns against the past month being a false dawn.
"It could happen in a hurry for him. He could be real good, real quick but he could also be a fringe player real quick," Buckley said.
"It is all a matter of how much work he is prepared to put in."
On Sunday with the game on the line, De Goey was prepared to work, winning nine disposals in the second half as he kicked 4.2 to turn the tide.
At times, as De Goey's quick feet danced around West Coast opponents at Etihad Stadium, it was hard not to think of another Collingwood larrikin, Alan Didak, and his three-goal burst in a game in July 2010.
But De Goey, unlike Didak, is not a fan favourite just yet.
His pre-season indiscretion had most rolling their eyes.
But games such as Sunday's can turn opinions quickly.
Buckley said it must be remembered De Goey is still young, working out how to combine a demanding career with other parts of his life that are important for anyone in their early 20s.
The coach respects the way his young charge has managed to do that since the start of the season.
From De Goey's perspective, the most pleasing aspect of his game was his effort.
It allowed him to lay a match-winning tackle on West Coast's Liam Duggan with just minutes to go where he chased him down like a steer wrestler at a rodeo.
"It was one of those lucky things," De Goey said.
His ability to hit up as a forward and then roll off after marking to drill low, direct kicks inside 50 is strong.
That confidence to pull the trigger is part of his character so there is no attempt to coach that out of him.
But he needs to display the same balance off the field as he has demonstrated recently on it.
And he knows it.
"It was another step in the right direction. I am building up now and I just want to continue," De Goey said.
