Loading After the dramatic final stages of last year's epic finale between the Pies and West Coast, as people pored over Dom Sheed's phenomenal winning kick, Sidebottom's game went under the radar. His 2018 had been incredible. He played every game in the home-and-away season, finishing second in the Brownlow Medal behind Hawthorn's Tom Mitchell. He then backed it up in the finals. He had 27 disposals in the qualifying final loss to West Coast, 31 in the semi-final win over GWS and 41 in the preliminary final obliteration of Richmond. It was like he was building to an almighty crescendo. But he stumbled at the final hurdle.

"I remember my first kick went straight to Jeremy McGovern," Sidebottom sighed. "But not even at the start of the game did I think 'bloody hell, this isn't my day'." I will be doing everything I can, if the chance does come up, to not play as shit as I did in the grand final. Steele Sidebottom Had he thought it, he would have been right. Sidebottom would have just 14 disposals, his lowest tally in more than five seasons. Many will say it was a masterstroke from Eagles coach Adam Simpson, sending reliable stopper Mark Hutchings to do a job. But Sidebottom refuses to use it as an excuse.

Loading "He might have went to me at times, but I didn't have a hard tag from him. "I think I just had a bad day." The reality is Sidebottom's poor performance in the grand final wouldn't be remembered had Collingwood won. Had Jordan De Goey – with two minutes on the clock – marked instead of McGovern, turned around and slotted the winner from 40 metres, then barely anyone would remember who played poorly for the Pies.

In fact, as St Kilda champion Nick Riewoldt pointed out this week on radio, we would all be talking about another horror Jack Darling moment in grand final history, when he momentarily took his eyes off the ball, fumbled it across the line and wasted an opportunity to win it for the Eagles then and there. These are the "ifs" and "buts" that have plagued Sidebottom since that fateful day. But he was happy to open up about his game, something he concedes he's never been asked to talk about before. "It feels like Dom Sheed is kicking a goal every time I turn the TV on. It's hard," Sidebottom reflected. "I definitely do think about that day. There's a lot of 'what could have been,' and 'if I did this,' or 'if that happened'.

"There's no doubt that when I look back and think about it, I think about: if I could have had more influence on the game then that's a potential extra goal our way and that could've been the difference." But Sidebottom was one of the key components that allowed Collingwood to get there in the first place and he has the opportunity to be that player again, albeit in a different role. He is a known big-game player. A look at his performance in the 2010 grand final replay, where he had 25 disposals and kicked two goals, is proof of that. Sidebottom celebrates an Alan Didak goal in the 2010 grand final replay. Credit:Paul Rovere But he's still desperate to right the wrongs of last year.

"Getting to where we are now, we've got another opportunity to go out and potentially go one step further. "At the end of the day, I can't change it. What I can change is if I get that chance again, I'll do things differently." And although it's been out of his control, his build up to this year's finals series has been different to the previous six in his career. It was an accidental back heel to the groin from Irish teammate Anton Tohill that sent Sidebottom to his haunches, clutching a region that all men fear being injured.

Loading "I just dropped and he half gave me a pat on the shoulder," a smiling Sidebottom said, seeing the funny side of the situation. But two ultrasounds later and Sidebottom was on the operating table going under the knife. Then came the hard part. The recovery. "The first week I literally did nothing, I started watching Animal Kingdom on Netflix. I'd literally just wake up and lay on the couch all day for five days.

"I was just uncomfortable; I wasn't in that much pain, it was just really uncomfortable. "My balls were wrapped up to keep them nice and tight, so I couldn't walk normally." Sidebottom missed round 23, breaking his streak of 88 consecutive games, and the man himself says the break has been a welcome change. So with two weeks off and a point to prove, it's a combination that could prove ominous for Geelong on Friday night. "I hate losing, and I love beating everyone. We get first crack at the Cats, who've been the best team all year and I cannot wait."