Jordan Roughead and Isaac Quaynor both joined Collingwood at the start of 2019.
Roughead from the Western Bulldogs where he played 138 games and won a Premiership and Quaynor with Pick 13 in the 2018 National Draft.
Although Jordan can’t remember the exact moment he met the now Collingwood Vice-Captain of the verge of his 100th game, from the outset he knew Isaac was a quality young man.
“I remember being impressed by Isaac from my initial interactions with him,” said Roughead.
“Both on the field, but I think even more so off the field just as a person and how comfortable he seemed and how confident he was, while still having a really nice amount of humility and appreciation of other people.”
Although Quaynor didn’t made his AFL debut until Round 16 of 2019, Roughead doesn’t remember much of the defender playing anywhere other than the highest level, a telling indicator of his athletic ability.
“He’s one of those guys that you kind of only remember as an AFL footballer, like I can’t think back and even visualise him playing VFL at all,” reflected Roughead.
“I think that’s probably because when he came into the program, he was athletically, clearly, highly developed. He was sharp, he was quick, he was powerful he was everything you want to be as an athlete.
“I think that was probably one of those initial impressions I got from him, which was his ability to just get to work in the gym, and on the track to improve himself. It was as good as I’ve seen at that point from some of the guys that I’d spent a decade within the AFL system.”
As teammates in Jordan’s playing days and now as his Backline coach, Roughead highlights the caring and diligent nature of Quaynor, something that has ultimately seen him join the leadership group in 2024.
“The thing that springs to mind is probably the care for his teammates. Even now, I see him sitting with TJ (Tew Jiath) watching vision during the week, which makes my job so much easier as a Backline Coach,” said Roughead.
“To be able to trust a guy who knows what he’s talking about, knows what he’s looking at, that can communicate well.
“As a younger guy himself, he’s 24 years old and he’s already sort of making those strides in his football journey (of helping others). Generally being a young player is when you worry about yourself and getting a game and then getting consistent games and cementing yourself in the team.
“But now he’s on the verge of playing 100 games and he’s a guy whose magnet is pretty much glued to the board so he’s more worried about how he can support and help his teammates that he is necessarily of his own game. And from my experience (getting to that point) that took a lot longer for me and it helped me to be a more well-rounded footballer and a person.”
Roughead finds coaching Quaynor is equally as good as playing with him.
“It’s my first year doing it (coaching) but what I’m learning is that coaching is an art not a science and that everyone is an individual and ‘Q’ is great to coach,” reflected Roughead.
“Q is receptive to messaging. He’s always looking for new things that he could be applying to his game to make himself better. Sometimes we need to remind him that less is more occasionally, because everyone’s seen the viral video of him on the treadmill three days after the Grand Final.
“He’s the sort of guy that does need to be held back a little bit for his own good at times, which we love.”
As a first-year line coach, having Quaynor (and others) as former teammates in his line group is only a positive for the modest Roughead.
“It’s a unique thing, of having played with and now coaching. But I’ll be forever grateful because I wasn’t intimidated by the thought of coaching the guys that I played with, but I remember reaching out to them all and sending them a message while they’re on their break,” said Roughead.
“I said ‘hey by the way I’m taking over coaching the Backs and Bolts (Brendon Bolton) is stepping up’ (to GM of Football, Coaching and Leadership) and I’m looking forward to getting to work with you guys again’.
“I had a little bit of anxiety around it because I’m coaching guys that are way better footballers than I ever was.
“I remember ‘Q’ reaching out and sending a message back and said something along the lines of ‘looking forward to it, you were pretty much a coach towards the back end of your playing days anyway’.
“That just gave me a real sense of guidance that it’s going to be okay and I will be able to have strong relationships with these guys and help support them and try to help them be the best version of themselves, again as footballers, but as people as well. So that’s been a pretty cool thing for me to experience.”
It’s one of many examples that Roughead feels exemplifies Quaynor as a leader both on and off the football field.
“I watched the video (recently published on the Collingwood website) about TJ’s (Tew Jiath) first game last week and the thing that resonated with me was that he described ‘Q’ as having an older brother or father sort of figure mentality to him at the footy club,” said Roughead.
“That was the thing that just made my respect for ‘Q’ grow, and you wouldn’t have thought it could grow anymore, but made me sort of realise again, that he is this beacon for a huge community and he represents them so well.
“He speaks beautifully. He acts beautifully. He’s just a really kind soul that wants the best for people. And I think that as long as he continues to be that version of him, he may look at other leaders and see the traits that they bring, but he should just keep bringing up that version of him because I imagine it’s a reason a lot of people voted for him to be a part of leadership group and it’s what makes him a really special and unique individual in football.”
Ahead of game 100, Roughead has a simple piece of advice for Quaynor and it’s nothing to do with spoils, positioning or tactics.
“I was a player that looked at him and went, ‘I can’t do half the things he does’. And that is typically how I approach coaching most people because everyone is unique,” said Roughead.
“Everyone can do their own things and my advice to him will be go and have fun. Go and express yourself and do what we all know you can do, because we love watching you play and you make us feel better when you play at your best, so have fun.”