Quaynor wasn't fazed."I'm not one to be grossed out by that sort of stuff. I was with the doc when he took the photo. I was looking at it for a while,seeing the inside of my leg."
The pain did not bother him,but the word"surgery"did."It always freaks me out a little,"he said."I kind of align surgery with months out of the game."
As it happened,it was three weeks. When fit again,he was immediately restored to the team,another sign of how the 20-year-old's stocks have soared this year.
Quaynor had an orthodox suburban footy upbringing,save for one detail:his father,Yaw,was from Ghana. Somewhat tenuously,this gave Collingwood privileged access to him through its Next Generation Academy.
It suited Quaynor,a lifelong Pies supporter.
That said,he is well versed in his heritage. From when he can remember,he and his brothers attended an African church with their father,ate Ghanaian food and listened to Ghanaian music. Pre-game still,he revs up by listening to a track called Mightylele by Stonebwoy,which his father introduced to him.
"The music and the food,"he said."I love all the food,and always have."In life as on the field,he knows who he is.
Shortly before he was drafted,Quaynor attended the 2018 grand final,his first,with an uncle who works at Collingwood in recruiting. He thrilled to almost all of it."It was a good day until Dom Sheed kicked that goal,"he said,"then it went downhill."
Still he is wondrous that he is on the other side of the fence now. He talked about it with fellow draftee Trent Bianco,another born Collingwood supporter,while injured and watching the Magpies play North Melbourne."I said to him,we used to be in the stands cheering,and now we're playing,"he said."I'm constantly pinching myself,to be honest."
Two-thirds of a season in the VFL in 2019 watching others win promotion frustrated him."Looking back,it was a lesson in disguise. It allowed me to wrap my head around playing against men,the intensity of senior football."Hence his preternatural poise.
Quaynor does his homework,literally. When new to the club,head of development Tarkyn Lockyer gave all rookies a big notepad,to be brought to all meetings."It's obviously not for everyone,but it's something I've continued on,"Quaynor said."I might not actually read over everything I write,but it helps to hear it and then write it down in my own words. That when it really sinks in."
You might think such singlemindedness could consume a man in a hub,but Quaynor leavens it with a lively but mature personality and an ability to draw lines."As Bucks says,when we're on,we're on,"he said,"and when we're off,we're off."
Hub life works for him in a particular way."I've got three younger brothers and a bit of a packed household at home. So it's kind of nice to be in my own space for a bit."
He reigns in multi-disciplinary family sports tussles,but one brother already is taller and another soon will be."They're definitely coming for me,"he said.
In their absence,he diverts himself on FaceTime with mates and watching Netflix."I'm a big fan of kids'movies,"he said."I'll go back and watchShrek orFinding Nemo. All the classics. I have no shame in saying that."