Daniel Rioli has revealed the drastic lengths he went to while recovering from a broken leg to play his part in Gold Coast's historic AFL finals push.
The Richmond recruit's September presence was in danger when a 93-game streak was ended by the injury in his 200th appearance in late July.
Rioli had surgery to repair his fibular, missing five games before returning in Wednesday's emphatic finals-clinching defeat of Essendon.
The three-time premiership player was electric as he pushed the Suns out of defence with trademark speed and direction, traits the side had sorely missed in back-to-back losses in the weeks prior.
It was easy to forget he'd gone under the knife barely a month earlier.
"I broke my fibular, I had no idea about it. My first real unknown injury," Rioli said.
"It was a challenging time. The surgeon reckoned six-to-eight weeks recovery without surgery or four to five with it.
"As soon as I got out of surgery I came here straight away and was walking laps, with a broken fib.
"I was touch and go for Port (last Friday), but said, 'no, I'm not right, we'll wait'.
"And it was the right decision. It felt cherry ripe and now I get to recover and go again against Fremantle."
The Suns' clash with Fremantle in Perth on Saturday will be the club's first finals game since their 2011 AFL entry.
Only three players on the list have experienced September action.
One is former St Kilda utility Ben Long who played a solitary finals game in 2020.
John Noble boasts seven, the Collingwood recruit playing just three games before his first in 2019 but missing selection for the Magpies' 2023 flag run.
Rioli has 13 to his name, the Tigers star winning three flags in his first five seasons alongside current Suns coach Damien Hardwick.
Touk Miller, Jarrod Witts and foundation Sun David Swallow, who is pushing for selection after a knee injury of his own, have all amassed more than 200 games without featuring in a final.
Rioli's played in so many he gets them mixed up.
"I remember my first final," he said.
"We played Hawthorn, or was it Geelong ... I can't remember to be honest.
"But I do remember my first grand final, and prelim against GWS (in 2017).
"It's something every boy dreams of."
That says alot about where the Suns are but where they're aiming to be.
"You're excited but that's not where we want to finish and be content with," Rioli said.
"We won't want to just be in one and say, 'oh that's okay'.
"Our ultimate goal is to play in that last Saturday in September."
