Collingwood young gun Isaac Quaynor has spoken on his close relationship with former Magpies defender Heritier Lumumba.
The 21-year-old has played 15 matches in the black and white since making his debut for the club in 2019 and will be looking to cement his place in Nathan Buckley's side this year.
Quaynor has shown plenty of flare and pace coming out of Collingwood's defensive third, with plenty of glimpses mirroring Lumumba's run off half-back in his 199 games with the Magpies.
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Speaking toย The Herald Sun,ย Quaynor revealed he has looked to Lumumba for career advice, with the former Magpies defender offering plenty of praise in return.
โI have actually had a little bit of contact with (Lumumba) in the last six months,โ he said.
โHe has been really positive and has been saying โyou are doing well'.
โTo have him staying somewhat connected to my journey, I am grateful for.
โEvery now and again, I get a little Instagram message just in terms of him tapping into my football, and I think that's pretty cool.โ
"'There's Harry O'Brien (Lumumba's former name) โฆ that looks like Harry O'Brien'", Quaynor heard people saying.
โThat was something that really stuck with me.
โIt was the first connection with me that he (Lumumba) just looked similar. I had the โfro. I had the same skin colour, I played the same position (defence).
โIt was a no-brainer for me as a kid.โ
.@CollingwoodFC's Isaac Quaynor is the @NAB AFL Rising Star nominee for round 17.
Congratulations Isaac on an impressive season so far and a well-deserved nomination ๐ pic.twitter.com/0F9d9bCh8O
— AFL (@AFL) September 15, 2020
Both Quaynor and Lumumba hail from African heritage, with Quaynor of Ghanian decent while Lumumba was born to Brazilian and Congolese-Angolan parents.
Lumumba has been vocal on the Magpies' dark racial history since leaving Collingwood, with an individual report confirming systematic racism was alive within the club.
The damning review has led to a major cause of action within the club, with now-former president Eddie McGuire stepping down from his role following uproar from his reaction to the report, where he deemed the report's surfacing as a "proud day" for the club.