It was not until the son of ex-Bomber Jack Mihocek was 25 years old,in 2017,that he convinced long-time Magpies recruiter Derek Hine that he was worth taking a punt on – and even then,it was in the rookie draft.

Mihocek’s journey from Burnie to Maribyrnong Park to Werribee then Port Melbourne seems all the more ridiculous now,amid a career-best AFL season where he seems destined to kick 50-plus goals.

The no-frills forward,who was drafted as a defender,is already up to 32 goals through 13 games this season – the equal-ninth-best tally in the competition – and only nine off his personal high from last year. He is the top target for the premiership favourites.

But Mihocek still doesn’t have a genuine answer on why he had to wait so long to be an AFL footballer.

“I heard a few things – I wasn’t quick enough,and I interviewed badly,but as an 18-year-old,it’s always pretty daunting going up and speaking to 10 recruiters,” Mihocek said. “I don’t know[what I said wrong] but I was a shy person. No one ever really gave me a definite reason,but I don’t think they need to after you don’t get drafted. I was left in the lurch on what I needed to do and improve on,so I tried to improve on everything.

“I always looked at people drafted before me and wondered how they were playing,and I wasn’t. But I just kept playing in the VFL,and doing well on AFL players,and at the end of the day,it’s all luck. I was lucky to finally get to Collingwood.”

Not surprisingly,Mihocek took great satisfaction out of the “massive achievement” of playing his 100th AFL game last season.

The constant draft rejections shook his self-belief and left him frustrated,but never broke him. Then,once his dream was realised,the first few seasons were “a blur”,including playing in the Magpies’ thrilling but heartbreaking grand final loss in 2018.

Asked if that result still stung,Mihocek offered a fascinating answer.

“It was my first year at the Pies,and everything was awesome – I was playing AFL footy,and playing in a grand final,so I had a different feeling towards it,” he said.

“It was still a good game,and not many ever make a grand final,so I’m one that enjoyed the day nonetheless without winning. If we won,who knows where I’d be now? My motivation might have dropped off,and I might be out of the AFL.”

Mihocek feels his 2023 season is far superior to his 41-goal performance last year,when a foot problem interrupted his summer before knee and hip issues hindered him throughout the season.

He has kicked multiple goals in 10 of his 13 games,including a career-most five against Sydney in round eight.

The last two that night came in the dying minutes,with Mihocek’s scissor-kick goal over his head a spectacular way to seal victory for the Swans.The fifth came via a Steele Sidebottom pass,with his veteran teammate unaware at the time he was helping Mihocek clear a hurdle after 12 times being stuck on four goals.

“Talk about reward for effort. He has been undersized,playing as a key forward,not even just this year,but for years,and it is nice to see him get some reward for effort,” Sidebottom said.

“He tries harder than anyone and throws his body into anything,so to see him hit the scoreboard is nice.”

Mihocek has another theory on why his football has gone to another level,and it revolves around second-year coach Craig McRae.

“He’s got us all enjoying our football again. When we finished second-last[in 2021];it didn’t reflect the squad we had at the time. It was just an off-year,and we knew we could do more,” Mihocek said.

“The method in how we move the ball has helped me a lot. We’re a territory team,and it did get hard as a forward in the few years before ‘Fly’ got here,with our ball movement being a bit stale and not getting it in quickly enough.

“I knew as a forward myself that I wanted the ball in quick to be able to test the defence,so our ball movement now is awesome,and I find it easy to read what the ball’s doing.”

After all these years,people are still underestimating Mihocek. Exhibit A:Wayne Carey,who randomly used Mihocek’s success as an example a few weeks back of why Jonathan Brown,Dermott Brereton and Nick Riewoldt would “dominate the competition” in a poorly received tweet.

In some ways,Carey was complimenting Mihocek by even mentioning him. But the Collingwood forward has mostly moved past that type of motivation and is instead driven to play in a premiership.

“I had a good mate,Robbie Fox from Sydney,play in last year’s grand final,and I watched him go all the way,really hoping he would get that win last year,but it didn’t happen,” Mihocek said.

“You get hungrier each year to go the next step. If you’re not playing for that goal,then it’s hard to stay motivated. I just want to keep improving every year,do the fans and my family proud,and all the little motivators combine for that one big goal.”

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