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There was a time not that long ago – during the dreaded COVID-19 days – that Magpie Isaac Quaynor was frustrated with where his career was at.
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.
Isaaac Quaynor has become a pivotal part of Collingwood’s backline.Credit: AFL Photos
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.
“It wasn’t much fun, but I guess that added a lot of fuel to the fire,” he said.
That proved the making of Quaynor, now a fully fledged star who was shortlisted for All-Australian honours this year.
It was the 23-year-old’s 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.
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.
Quaynor’s trusty notepad and pen were with him the whole time.
Quaynor celebrates with Magpies captain Darcy Moore.Credit: Paul Rovere
Collingwood’s then-head of development, Tarkyn Lockyer, insisted on first-year Pies writing down what they heard, but one by one they dropped off.
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.
“It’s 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’s like I’ve almost heard it twice,” he said.
“That’s how I remember things a bit better. I don’t really go over it and read it again – writing it down just gets it in my head.”
Quaynor keeps one of his notepads in his bedside table, but insists it is not filled with profound messages, rather just complicated game plans.
“I feel like I can’t throw it out. The other ones; I have no idea where they’ve gone, to be honest, probably in the bin,” he said.
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 “Why not me?” did go through his mind.
That is one of the key differences with Quaynor: he will admit to having inner-demons that some footballers say never happen.
“I think if anyone said ‘no’, they’d be kidding themselves,” he said. “You get told from day dot not to compare yourself because everyone’s on their own journey and different teams give different opportunities and different roles are available, so I understand that way of looking at it.
“But there’s 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 – not on them, just on my behalf, that I felt like I could be doing something and bringing something to the table as well.”
Quaynor’s ability to blend offensive skills with a water-tight defensive mindset has made him one of the game’s best defenders.Credit: Getty Images
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.
“I’m a big believer that when you put something out there in the universe, it will often pay you back,” Quaynor said.
“I had a mindset where I was like, ‘I’m sick of being on the outside’, and I told myself I was going to take control, and I feel like, for the most part, I did that.
“It was an interesting time throughout that period, obviously, with the hub and all that stuff. But when I look back on that, it’s something I’m pretty proud of.”
Quaynor’s barely missed a match since, and only because of the odd injury, without appearing again at VFL level.
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’s best forwards on a weekly basis.
But Quaynor, one of the AFL’s 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.
Brownlow Medal fancy Nick Daicos jokingly took the credit for that purple patch after his celebrated move into the midfield.
“He’s claiming it. I didn’t 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,” Quaynor said.
“I think it’s also probably from a lot of learnings throughout the year, then also potentially [Daicos’ positional switch] as well, but I’m loving watching Nick do his stuff in the midfield.
“He’s handy to have wherever – if we could have a Nick in the forward and backlines and midfield, I’d take it, so as long as he’s on the field, we’re happy.”
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