Since Jamie Elliott played his first final back in the 2012 semi, the Pies have featured in 16 games in September.

That was his debut year, making his mark on both the Club and the competition immediately after entering the league as a highly touted forward.

Flying for marks and kicking goals from nowhere, he’s been a household name for over a decade since.

But there’s four missing pieces since that day 11 years ago, with Elliott only having played 12 of those 16 finals.

Not only did he not play in the 2018 Grand Final and that season’s four-game finals series, he didn’t play a game at all that year.

Plagued by soft tissue and ankle injuries, the livewire was consigned to the sidelines in what he describes as an “out of the blue” journey to the Grand Final for the Club.

“I had surgery about five weeks before Grand Final week, I had a hip scope and a hammy repair,” he recalls.

“The week was crazy; the fan turnout was massive but I don’t really reflect too much on that year just because it was a rough year.

“It was a special year though, how I would compare that year to this year is because in ’17 I think we finished bottom eight we had a rough year, so it was kind of out of the blue.”

As he mentions, memories of the year aren’t as fond as some who rode the wave to the 2018 decider.

Whether he liked it or not, Elliott says it was hard not to feel like he was on the outside throughout.

And while glad he’s playing this time around, he’s intent on keeping the group as connected as possible.

“Obviously if you’re playing, you’re part of it and if you’re not playing you don’t feel part of it and in ’18 I wasn’t part of it,” he says.

“I didn’t play all year, I had recurring hammies, I had surgeries and I felt like I was a little bit on the outside.

“The environment wasn’t terrible back then and I can only speak for the guys who won’t play but I’m sure they feel so supported.

“We want the guys who are on the fringe who are not part of it to make them feel part of the journey.

“Hopefully we get the ultimate success and we can share that with them.”

So, after a career that has spanned 12 seasons – two of which he didn’t feature in at all after he sat 2016 out too with debilitating back issues – Elliott finally gets his chance on the biggest stage of all.

There were Prelim losses in ’12, ’19 and ’22, with his journey suffering setbacks along the way, but the 31-year-old has never played better than he has in 2023.

Enjoying a career-best output of 39 goals this year, Eliott has had a year not troubled by injury, and buoyed by the confidence in his game.

“My soft tissue side of things I haven’t had any issues. I could get back and play my best footy and feel normal and then this year I’ve basically had a clean run at it apart from little hiccup in the middle of the year,” he says.

“It’s nice to be able to play with freedom and not think your body is going to let you down which I’ve had in the past years.

“I think my game style how I would describe it is an explosive game style so if I don’t have that I’m not the player that I am.

“If my body fails me or I’m sore or haven’t prepared well enough then I can’t play at my best.

“This year I’ve felt for the majority if it I’ve physically been able to play freely and play footy without think and just play on instinct, so it plays a big part especially about my game style."

His experience has played a big part too.

Knowing there will be periods in the game as a forward where opportunities will be few and far between, Elliott has stayed ready for his moment.

That’s reared its head prominently through his series of clutch goals in the past two seasons, but it happens more naturally than it might have before.

“The longer I’ve been in the game I think I’ve got stronger and as a forward you go through those patches so it’s just sticking to those processes,” he says.

“If those moments happen, I’m going to be confident in myself but I think as a forward or as any player, what Fly has been good at is saying you just need to manage the moments and managing minutes, seconds,” he says.

“Fly gives me a little bit of lee-way with my positioning because predominantly I play deep forward and I get the lick of the ice-cream when we’re moving it freely through the midfield, so when we’re moving it and it’s stagnant and slowed down he basically gives me a bit more freedom to move up the ground because it’s not getting to me.

“There’s no point me holding deep so there’s little things I change like in the first half it got a bit dry down there but mentally as a forward you go through those parts in a game where you might not see it for 15 minutes.

“I might have 10 touches over 120 minutes and they could all come in a big hit in the second or third quarter, or sometimes in the last quarter so it’s more just staying ready and being present in the game.”

Now only days out from the game, it’s hard for Elliott to not build it up.

Trying to soak it all in, the livewire forward is embracing every moment.

“I’m not too bad at the moment, a little bit nervous,” he says.

“The more I think about it the more nervous I get so I’m trying to take in the week and enjoy but at the same time relax and get a bit of a mental break because I know when I’m at the club It’ll be on my mind.

“This year we’ve had the build-up of last year making the Prelim and only just missing out and now we’ve made the Granny it’s kind of been a bigger build up so I’m pretty excited.”