ZACH Guthrie started his AFL career as somewhat of a whipping boy among impatient Geelong fans.
He's now played 101 consecutive games at the top level.
Guthrie had the lightest of frames and a baby face when he was drafted as a rookie by the Cats with pick 33 at the end of 2016.
He played 33 games in his first five seasons, in and out of the side like a yo-yo, and struggling to physically match it with his older opponents.
But you don't grow up the youngest of four boys without having some inner fight (even in a family as gentle and well-spoken as the Guthries), and since round eight 2022, Guthrie simply has never left Geelong's best 23.
In fact, only nine current AFL players have strung together a greater number of consecutive matches.
"Probably the first half of my career, I was always on that edge (of selection)," Guthrie told AFL.com.au.
"It's been pleasing to be able to play those consistent games in a row, and feel like I've been able to solidify myself a bit more. It's something I really enjoy, the week-to-week grind of trying to get myself in the best shape possible to perform. It's a nice little milestone to achieve.
"Given the first half of my career, it's been nice to be consistent to allow my confidence to grow at the level. I've had good teammates around me to work with and work off, and they make things easier."
There's a six-year age gap between Zach and older brother Cam (who was delisted last year after 240 games and two best and fairests at the Cats), which allowed the younger an early insight into life as an AFL player.
But things weren't quite as straightforward as they appeared.
"Coming in, I was able to watch a lot of Cam at Geelong while I was at high school, so part of me was a little naïve in a way, just hoping it would work out. There were probably times where I did start to doubt myself a little bit. I probably always just tried to look at it through that period as everyone would love to be playing each week," Guthrie said.
"I feel as if you just go about your week with disappointment, you lose that drive to keep improving, and it's not going to help you in any way. I tried to remain as positive as possible and controlled the things I could control. It's still a work in progress, there's little patches you go through where you feel like you're not playing at your best, but that's the challenge of professional sport."