It’s perhaps the oldest of football’s clichés.

“It’s his best pre-season ever.”

The football world churns this line out, summer after summer. The Herald Sun even filed a story titled ‘AFL pre-season clichés on Thursday.

But every now and then, the cliché is actually an accurate depiction of the real thing.

Collingwood has one of those this pre-season, and his name is Patrick Karnezis.

The 22-year-old’s four years in the AFL system have seen him bogged down by persistent injuries, to the point where groin and hamstring issues restricted him to a grand total of zero senior games.

Fortunately, he’s got his body back to where it needs to be.

“Obviously I was injured for much of the season and in Brisbane my body was a bit up and down, but this year (looking to 2015) I’ve been really injury free, really fit – the fittest I’ve ever been, probably – and I’m just trying to tick off the boxes and get to Christmas, ready to go for the New Year,” Karnezis told CollingwoodTV.

“My body feels way better.

“Last year I obviously had the groins and the OP (Osteitis Pubis) and the hamstrings, which wasn’t ideal.

“But this year I’m running the best I’ve ever run, I lost a bit of weight, which was good, and hopefully I’ll head into the New Year and get going.”

In between injuries, Karnezis played 13 VFL games in 2014. He led the team’s goal kicking tally with 31, highlighted by a bag of six against Geelong and three hauls of four.

“Getting here last year was pretty hard, I was in rehab for most of the pre-season,” he explained.

“I came back in late March when the season had already started and then played a few games in the VFL, but my body broke down again with a couple of hammies, and from there it was pretty hard just to get back on the track and stay on the track, especially.

“It was frustrating, so I put a heap of work into the off-season to get my body right and get it strong again, and I’m reaping the rewards right now.

“In the games I did play I thought I played reasonably well, so hopefully this year it just comes down to my body, getting that right and hopefully getting back to playing some senior football.

“Hopefully I can continue that and hopefully next year we can have a better year.”

As one of the 21 youngsters who went on the club’s training camp in Falls Creek, Karnezis speaks glowingly of the optimism amongst the playing group.

“I remember barracking for Collingwood and even when I was in Brisbane, seeing the team, it’s dramatically changed a fair bit.

“Even in the camp at Falls Creek, with the first to fourth years, I was pretty excited to see how many young boys are coming through and who’s ready to take that next step.

“I reckon there will be a fair few surprises this year, which is going to be exciting.

“Brodie Grundy came back pretty fit. He’s raring to go, and even Nathan Freeman, a young boy last year who was injured with me in rehab, which was pretty tough for him, so he’s come back ready to go.

“There are going to be a lot of surprises next year with the young boys.”

Patrick Karnezis: Key VFL Statistics (averages in brackets)
Disposals: 201 (15.5) Marks: 60 (4.6) Tackles: 32 (2.5) Inside 50s: 32 (2.5) Score Assists: 14 (1.1) Marks Inside 50: 23 (1.8) Tackles Inside 50: 19 (1.5) Contested Marks: 6 (0.5)