Collingwood forward Jamie Elliott never saw himself as a potential coach, but his longevity in the game coupled with his football nous has made him think about staying in football after his playing days.
Elliott is the fourth oldest at the Pies, and is the leader of the forward group following the departures of premiership talls Mason Cox and Brody Mihocek, and has taken a liking to helping develop the young brigade beneath him.
"I see it like this," the 33-year-old said on Triple M.
"No, I didn't see myself coaching. I see how much work they put in. But, at the same time, when you spend so long in the game, you've got so much knowledge, so why wouldn't you use that knowledge?
"I am toying with that at the moment, whether I want to fall into that. Definitely, when I do finish, I'll have a year off probably to get away from it all.
"And then potentially, I'll miss it and come back into it but I feel like I know the game pretty well, and definitely help kids coming through, a development role, but there's definitely a space there."
Elliott's leadership has improved in leaps and bounds to the point where the club recognised him as part of the official group ahead of last year, before retaining the role in 2026.
"I've been in the system long enough where, especially last year, when I got put into the leadership group, I feel like the growth in my game came around helping others," he said.
"And getting the best out of them, which actually in turn, helped my football."
The high-flying Pie has helped develop the likes of fellow small forwards Beau McCreery, Lachie Schultz, Harvey Harrison and Bobby Hill, with the latter returning to Collingwood headquarters following a personal leave of absence.
"It's great to have Bob back in the building," he said.
"He looks happy, healthy. That's the biggest thing. But there's going to be a process for him to get back to playing. He's got to put in a block of work, earn the trust back, and hopefully see him on the field soon."
Collingwood will venture to Marvel Stadium to take on GWS on Friday night, which will be one of three occasions for the year.
