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There was a time not that long ago \u2013 during the dreaded COVID-19 days \u2013 that Magpie Isaac Quaynor was frustrated with where his career was at.<\/p>\n
Anyone who banished those lockdown memories might also have forgotten the hastily put together scratch matches, often including players from three or four teams, for footballers who missed AFL selection.<\/p>\n
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Isaaac Quaynor has become a pivotal part of Collingwood\u2019s backline.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>AFL Photos<\/cite><\/p>\n Quaynor was one of those fringe players for the first five rounds of that infamous 2020 season, after a foot injury he kept quiet about for too long flared up and ended his four-game rookie campaign prematurely.<\/p>\n \u201cIt wasn\u2019t much fun, but I guess that added a lot of fuel to the fire,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n That proved the making of Quaynor, now a fully fledged star who was shortlisted for All-Australian honours this year.<\/p>\n It was the 23-year-old\u2019s second season in the league, and he used the two months when the football year was on hold to make up ground on his more experienced peers.<\/p>\n Quaynor kept in close contact with defensive coach Matthew Boyd and development coach Hayden Skipworth and would arrange vision sessions over Zoom to sharpen his knowledge of the game plan.<\/p>\n Quaynor\u2019s trusty notepad and pen were with him the whole time.<\/p>\n Quaynor celebrates with Magpies captain Darcy Moore.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Paul Rovere<\/cite><\/p>\n Collingwood\u2019s then-head of development, Tarkyn Lockyer, insisted on first-year Pies writing down what they heard, but one by one they dropped off.<\/p>\n Quaynor is the last one standing, five seasons into his career. His thirst for knowledge and attention to detail are highly regarded at the AIA Vitality Centre.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just the way I learn. A few of the boys give me a bit of stick about it, but if I hear something, then I write it down, it\u2019s like I\u2019ve almost heard it twice,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s how I remember things a bit better. I don\u2019t really go over it and read it again \u2013 writing it down just gets it in my head.\u201d<\/p>\n Quaynor keeps one of his notepads in his bedside table, but insists it is not filled with profound messages, rather just complicated game plans.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel like I can\u2019t throw it out. The other ones; I have no idea where they\u2019ve gone, to be honest, probably in the bin,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Those months of isolation also gave Quaynor time to think. Many of his 2018 first-round draft peers, from Sam Walsh and Bailey Smith, to Nick Blakey and Zak Butters, were already playing regular senior football, so the thoughts of \u201cWhy not me?\u201d did go through his mind.<\/p>\n That is one of the key differences with Quaynor: he will admit to having inner-demons that some footballers say never happen.<\/p>\n \u201cI think if anyone said \u2018no\u2019, they\u2019d be kidding themselves,\u201d he said. \u201cYou get told from day dot not to compare yourself because everyone\u2019s on their own journey and different teams give different opportunities and different roles are available, so I understand that way of looking at it.<\/p>\n \u201cBut there\u2019s no doubt that I was looking at people who were picked before and after me, and were playing, and there was definitely a sense of envy and frustration with that \u2013 not on them, just on my behalf, that I felt like I could be doing something and bringing something to the table as well.\u201d<\/p>\n Quaynor\u2019s ability to blend offensive skills with a water-tight defensive mindset has made him one of the game\u2019s best defenders.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Getty Images<\/cite><\/p>\n All those factors combined to drive Quaynor to get better. He even made a promise to himself that when he did break back in to the team, he would not give anyone a reason to overlook him again.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m a big believer that when you put something out there in the universe, it will often pay you back,\u201d Quaynor said.<\/p>\n \u201cI had a mindset where I was like, \u2018I\u2019m sick of being on the outside\u2019, and I told myself I was going to take control, and I feel like, for the most part, I did that.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was an interesting time throughout that period, obviously, with the hub and all that stuff. But when I look back on that, it\u2019s something I\u2019m pretty proud of.\u201d<\/p>\n Quaynor\u2019s barely missed a match since, and only because of the odd injury, without appearing again at VFL level.<\/p>\n What has taken him to another level in his career-best 2023 season is how stingy he has become defensively, demonstrated in him losing less than 18 per cent of his one-on-one contests despite facing the game\u2019s best forwards on a weekly basis.<\/p>\n But Quaynor, one of the AFL\u2019s most powerful athletes, showed in a three-week block between rounds 16 to 18, when he gathered 73 disposals, including 26 intercept possessions, that he can still shine offensively.<\/p>\n Brownlow Medal fancy Nick Daicos jokingly took the credit for that purple patch after his celebrated move into the midfield.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s claiming it. I didn\u2019t really think about that, but him leaving the backline leaves a big hole in our ability to generate offence, so definitely I think that onus has been kind of spread upon all of us,\u201d Quaynor said.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s also probably from a lot of learnings throughout the year, then also potentially [Daicos\u2019 positional switch] as well, but I\u2019m loving watching Nick do his stuff in the midfield.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s handy to have wherever \u2013 if we could have a Nick in the forward and backlines and midfield, I\u2019d take it, so as long as he\u2019s on the field, we\u2019re happy.\u201d<\/p>\n Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. <\/i><\/b>Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter<\/i><\/b>.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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