MITCH Georgiades has travelled a different, and rather painful, journey throughout the 2019 season compared to most of the other prospects in this year's NAB AFL Draft pool.
The bright 191cm forward had enjoyed an impressive bottom-age campaign when he copped a corkie to his quad during the Under-17 NAB All Stars Futures game on Grand Final day last year.
Despite feeling some pain, he played out the match and didn't think twice about the injury when he eventually hobbled from the field at full-time.
He went on holiday to Bali with his father the following week and noted that his corkie was progressively getting more and more stiff. When he returned to Australia and the issue was only getting worse, it was then that he decided he should get it checked out.
The results were worrying. The blood in the corkie had calcified, causing it to harden and mimic a bone structure which disrupted the bloodstream in his leg. From there, it had also bled into his quad and caused a hematoma as well.
It required three bouts of surgery, where the calcification was cut out and a coil was inserted into the vessel to plug the bleeding.
It meant the talented West Australian would spend the next nine months on the sidelines, effectively ending his final year of junior footy before it had begun.
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"At the start it was pretty tough," Georgiades told AFL.com.au.
"I always thought at the start of the season that I was going to play again this year, even though I knew I wasn't going to.
"I just started getting ready as if I was going to play later in the season and I did everything I could and just focused on that stuff. I was always in the pool, in the weights room, just doing the stuff I could do while I couldn't train.
"I always had the goal that I was going to come back stronger and faster than what I was before, which I've done. I've put 10kgs on and I'm really happy with how I've gone since the injury."
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Georgiades' catalogue of work throughout his bottom-age season will ensure he won't be forgotten by AFL clubs this week, despite his year out of the game.
An outstanding contested mark who is reliable by foot and quick off the mark on the lead, Georgiades is bound to attract interest inside the top 30 picks on Wednesday and Thursday night.
Port Adelaide will consider calling his name as early as pick No.18, while Richmond (pick No.19), Brisbane (pick No.21) and Geelong (pick No.24) are also monitoring the mobile forward's availability.
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His club side, Subiaco, is another team who have been mightily impressed by his recovery and his work ethic throughout his year on the sidelines. So much so they even contemplated handing him a senior WAFL debut for this year's preliminary final.
It would have been a remarkable return, given his last game for the club – almost exactly a year ago to the date – was in a thrilling two-point Grand Final win over Swan Districts to help the side to the WAFL Colts premiership.
However, according to those close to him, the comeback game was a step too far.
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"I was very close," Georgiades said.
"The Subiaco coach actually came up and said there was potentially a spot for me in the preliminary final that week, if I was available.
"I went home that night and talked to my parents and talked to (West Australian state talent manager) Adam Jones. We came to the conclusion that it probably wasn't worth it for one or two games late in the season.
"By that stage, we'd already written the season off and we were looking towards the Combine. I was pretty keen to play, but everyone said it probably wasn't quite worth it.
"I came to that conclusion a bit later, but it was good to get the recognition and to be around that mark."
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The fear of being this year's 'forgotten man' had entered Georgiades' mind when he prepared to undergo surgery that would end his year. But it was quickly replaced by an intense desire to improve in other facets of his game.
He wiped nearly 20 seconds off his best time in the 2km time trial at the NAB AFL Draft Combine, while he finished with the fourth best time of anyone in the 20m sprint (2.925 seconds) – an impressive result for a key forward.
For recruiters, it was further evidence of Georgiades' exceptional work ethic.
"At the start of the season I was a bit nervous, but I got over it pretty quickly," he said.
"It's always been in the back of my mind a little bit, but I just got over it. It happened and there's been nothing I can do. I just focused on my rehab, which kept me busy and didn't really allow me to think too much about what was going on."
>> Catch all the build-up to the 2019 NAB AFL Draft in our Draft Countdown Live. Cal Twomey, Riley Beveridge and Mitch Cleary will interview coaches, recruiters and prospective draftees over two massive days from 2pm AEDT on Tuesday, November 26 and Wednesday, November 27.
