IT IS the decision that could define Collingwood's season, and it was Jordan De Goey who drove it.
The gun Magpie had just had nine disposals in a thrilling loss to Geelong in round eight, continuing what had been a slow start to his 2025 as he continued to be troubled by an Achilles issue.
That performance triggered an honest admission from De Goey, who wouldn't return to AFL level again until round 21, with his comeback including a first VFL appearance in a decade in late July.
Ahead of his 15th final in the Pies' clash against Brisbane on Saturday, the 29-year-old sat down with AFL.com.au's Damian Barrett to discuss the hard choice he made to get him there.
"I was the first one to say [it]," De Goey told AFL.com.au.
"Whenever you put your hand up to play, you've got to be right to play. That's one thing I pride myself on and I wasn't playing at the level I wanted to, and I got to a point where I said, 'I can't contribute'.
"[After the round eight game] I just said, 'I've got nothing to contribute here unless you just want a standard player who fills a position.' I drove it. I just wasn't right.
"It's a team-first sport, and it's a long year as we know now. And to be able to sit aside a major part of the year and come back fresh and ready to rock and roll, I think we made a really good decision there."
De Goey's decline in form had followed a string of injuries over the past couple of years.
From managing just 13 games in 2024 as he battled a groin issue, this year it was his Achilles that impacted his usual explosiveness around the ground.
"Last year it was the groin … I could hardly kick the ball, couldn't sprint, could hardly move, to be honest," he said.
"And obviously being an explosive player that I want to be, you can't do any of that. So, I had to learn to play football a different way, and that's obviously really hard because I've grown up playing footy one way.
"The groin's (now) good as gold, so that's fine. And then it was the Achilles, and obviously explosiveness and Achilles, they go hand in hand.
"You take out my power and my first five metres of sprinting, then you take out a lot of that power as well."
Alongside the club coaching panel and medical staff, the decision was made to pull De Goey out of the side mid-year, to get his body right for an expected finals campaign.
"The last couple of years have been really frustrating to be honest, but the club's worked with me … and the medical team," he said.
"But I managed to slot back in after [Lachie Sullivan's] knee injury and since then really found my feet and got my body up and about. Confidence is up and everything is going really well, so hopefully I can continue that through the finals series."
De Goey will retake the stage for his fourth preliminary final when the Pies face Brisbane at the MCG on Saturday evening.
With the injuries now behind him, De Goey's performance in Collingwood's qualifying final win over Adelaide was immense as he finished with 26 disposals, seven tackles, six clearances and a goal.
His elite form at the pointy end of the season has drawn comparisons with three-time premiership Tiger, Dustin Martin, as one of the competition's greatest finals players.
"I'd like to think I'm up there in finals series for sure," he said. "But what 'Dusty' has been able to achieve over his whole career, especially finals series, I think he's in a whole other realm.
"It's definitely something for me and a whole lot of other players to aspire to. But at the end of the day, if people say I'm a good finals player I'll take that with me, that's for sure."