The legendary Leigh Matthews gave that advice to me in the early 1980's.
At the time Leigh was Hawthorn captain, while I was a player under his tutelage trying to develop my game in an attempt to join the competition's elite.
Calling on radio on Sunday afternoon at Etihad Stadium, I had time to ponder his words and couldn't help but think how far All Australian bookends' Brian Lake and Barry Hall had fallen in eight months.
At the start of the 2010 season these two powerhouses came together for the first time at the Bulldogs and there was a feeling out west that they could lead the club to premiership glory.
Although ultimately, the club failed in its quest, both Lake and Hall had stellar years where they dominated each end of the ground.
Unfortunately, both had post-season surgery and an injury-interrupted preparation to the season.
This has seen the pair fall from the prestige of the gala All Australian evening to struggling to hold their positions in the 12th placed team in the League.
Australian football at the elite level is a ruthless environment. Injuries take a heavy toll as players have operations over the summer and throughout the season. Many players are in recovery mode or trying to rebuild confidence after major impact to their bodies, while others need to carry injuries throughout the the year.
This makes staying at the peak of your powers extremely difficult, especially considering the extra scrutiny on your game as well as attention from the opposition.
My best year as a player was in 1983, I was at the top of my game. But in 1984 I had a tendon injury that cut me down for a month only to fracture my cheekbone in my return game, having a major impact on my season.
It's tough to get it all right all of the time.
Thinking of Leigh's words and the form of Lake and Hall I decided to look into how the rest of the 2010 All-Australian team had handled their time at the top.
It was quite amazing to see how many of the players who were the best in the land in 2010 would not even be up for consideration at this stage of the 2011 season. Most have fallen through injury while a few have simply lost their mojo.
All Australian Collingwood forward Alan Didak had a major operation in the off-season while Lake was forced to endure three. These operations have left the pair well below their best.
Three other All Australians in Melbourne's James Frawley, Hawthorn's Luke Hodge and Gold Coast Sun Gary Ablett had pre-season injuries and entered the season underdone. The amazing Ablett hasn't missed a beat and in a lowly team would still be considered for All-Australian honours, while Frawley is almost out of the running. Hodge is the interesting one as though he started slowly; he has been back to peak form over the past few weeks.
Another three players have definitely been wiped out of All Australian calculations through 'in-season' injuries. The trio are Eagle Mark Le Cras, Demon Mark Jamar and Bulldog Barry Hall. Two are back playing but none will be in the competition's best team at the end of the year.
Fremantle's Aaron Sandilands is a walk-up start as a ruckman in any All Australian team but will now miss at least a month with a toe injury that has the potential to sidetrack his season.
Of the All Australian 22, that is nine that have had major injury restrictions. This has made it more difficult for them to be at the top of their game.
Of the remainder, some are once again starring while a few are battling to get back to their very best of 2010.
At this stage the St Kilda duo of Brendon Goddard and Leigh Montagna would not be in calculations while Harry O'Brien has done his job for Collingwood, but others have had more impressive seasons.
Geelong's Harry Taylor, Paul Chapman and Corey Enright, have helped the Cats remain undefeated. Taylor and Enright were rested on the weekend, while Chapman played, but all three must be in All Australian discussions once again.
Magpie Dane Swan is an interesting proposition. He started the season as he finished the last - as the best midfielder in the AFL.
However, Swan has been cut down in recent weeks by an injury and has not quite had the output that we are accustomed to from him. The selection committee will be watching him closely as midfield positions are at a premium.
On a positive note it is great to see some of our stars from last year return in full flight in 2011.
Players such as Carlton's Chris Judd, Hawk Lance Franklin, Collingwood's Scott Pendlebury, Richmond's Jack Riewoldt and Geelong duo Steve Johnson and Joel Selwood would be at the top of my list to get back-to-back All Australian honours.
As Leigh once told me, it's tough to stay at the top, but the positive thing about AFL is there will always be another group of stars ready to rise.
