Jack Lukosius was so invisible Gold Coast coach Stuart Dew bought him a hi-vis shirt to wear around the club.
On Sunday he was impossible to miss, launching a crucial 60m-plus bomb to down the reigning AFL premiers Geelong as part of a career-best five majors.
The goal sparked wild scenes late in the fourth quarter, Lukosius poking 200-gamer David Swallow in the eye and drawing blood as he was mobbed.
"I got every bit of it, knew it had the journey and just snuck it in and missed the post," he recalled of his monster kick.
"It was a good feeling to know we were probably going to win after that.
"It was chaos, yeah.
"I feel confident like I belong ... it released the shackles, I played with some freedom, it was great."
Dew has tried hard to unlock the full potential of the ultra-talented 2018 No.2 draft pick.
"I just said, "We're missing this guy; he's there, he can do it - we've just got to get it to him'," Dew said of his hi-vis stunt.
But the coach admitted he was partly to blame for any stagnation after selecting him on the wing in round one and then shifting him there after a strong start last week.
"I accept that," he said.
"I think he's had a great summer forward of the ball, and at different times because he can do things, we shuffle him.
"It's a lesson for us that he can play that role and be damaging when he's given an opportunity.
"We've got to be really careful, if we try and plug one hole, what impact does that have? We need our players to be versatile, but he was one that was going well."
The return of fleet-footed defenders Lachie Weller and Wil Powell from long-term injury helps though, the pair able to generate offence and complete the grunt of midfielders Matt Rowell and Touk Miller.
While it was Lukosius's day, Ben King battled.
The key forward dropped four marks, three of them simple uncontested efforts, in the first half.
He pushed on though, kicking a late crucial goal and taking a hanger as well as contesting ground balls to create for his teammates.
"He kept presenting, he got separation, we found him and he had the cymbals on his hands for the first half," Dew said.
"He was as down on himself as anyone but he kept going, he took a hanger, and he just kept showing up and that was our message at three-quarter time, we've just got to keep showing up."
