Ollie Henry returned from Bali a year ago, equal parts rapt, frustrated and determined.
During his trip he'd watched the AFL grand final on TV and revelled in his old Collingwood teammates winning the flag.
But it had also highlighted his own finals drought, which the Geelong forward has now rectified.
And if the Cats win their preliminary final, it will be Henry's turn to play for the premiership.
"Requesting for trades, you can never predict what that team is going to go on and do," he told media this week.
"For me, what they (Collingwood) did ... I admired and it made me a little bit more hungry to want to have that same sort of success this year.
"I was super-happy as well to see some of my friends accept the medal and fulfil their childhood dreams ... there was no resentment or jealousy, watching on from Bali.
"It's just something that makes me want to do it a lot more."
Until the Cats' thumping 84-point qualifying final win over Port Adelaide, Henry's finals timing had been terrible.
After two seasons at Collingwood, he'd requested a trade to Geelong in late 2022 to play alongside his brother Jack, after the Cats won the premiership.
Last season, Geelong crashed out of the top eight and the Magpies broke through for the flag.
Henry admits to surprise at how strongly the Cats have rebounded this season, back into genuine premiership contention.
"There are so many things that happen in the season, that do surprise you," he said.
"Players surprise you and how well some players do, that can definitely surprise you.
"You do pinch yourself and think 'I wasn't probably going to expect this'. But now it's happening, I can actually see why it's happening."
Tom Hawkins' foot injury was one setback that could have been disastrous for Henry and his fellow Geelong forwards.
Instead Hawkins has worked hand-in-glove with emerging key forward Shannon Neale.
"He didn't miss a beat," Henry said of Hawkins.
"Especially, I saw Shannon and Tom work together so much while Tom was out, to help Shannon progress in that role.
"Hawk going down was super-frustrating and unfortunate for us, but the way he was able to help others is probably why we consider this club such a great club -- because of people like him."
By all reports, it's a club culture that has attracted the interest of Western Bulldogs star Bailey Smith, who wants out from Whitten Oval.
"I will take Bails' name out of this. I would just express that you're coming into a great club," Henry replied when asked why players might want to join Geelong.
"I'm sure most AFL clubs are probably similar in the way they go day-by-day ... but from own experience at Geelong, I love the place and I love the people.
"It's ultimately up to the person. It's a very choppy-changey lifestyle we're in."