Few could blame Ivan Soldo if the eye of the Tiger was beginning to drift towards the final Saturday in September.
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But the 23-year-old Richmond ruckman is refusing to take any of his maiden AFL finals campaign for granted.
Soldo doesn't want to fall into a cycle of regurgitating tired old cliches in a code dominated by them - but the looming return of premiership ruckman Toby Nankervis means he can do little else than worry about the job at hand.
Right now that is Richmond's qualifying final showdown with the Brisbane Lions at The Gabba on Saturday night.
There is little evidence to say he cannot rise to the task - he has done it this year when Richmond needed someone to fill the void in the middle during Nankervis' absence.
"It all just starts from VFL. You play games there to get ready for AFL, and with Toby out, the team needed someone who could do the job," Soldo said.
"It hasn't been easy at all, it has had its challenges. It has been a great experience, we've finished top three so the team is in great form heading into the finals.
"The job isn't done yet. Every week has been a new week for the team and myself. I don't really look at the end result at the moment, I'm looking at the next week.
"It is quite a cliche, but it has just been so constant, it's pretty exciting. We'll see over the next four weeks whether it has sunk in or not. We'll see what the end result is.
"Everyone is in pretty good spirits at the moment but there is a big job ahead."
Richmond are planning to take two ruckmen into the qualifying final against the resurgent Lions should Nankervis pass the Tigers' main training session with flying colours on Thursday.
Tigers coach Damien Hardwick says incumbent ruckman Soldo's "terrific" form will see him hold onto his place for a maiden finals appearance after he earned a two-year contract extension in what the Canberra export dubbed a make or break year in his career.
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Richmond have hit form at the back end of the season to reaffirm their premiership credentials - but the hype around Punt Road isn't stemming from the looming finals series.
"I don't know if you saw the VFL score, but it's been all about that. It was unbelievable, their comeback, it was pretty inspiring," Soldo said.
Nankervis has battled groin issues since round eight but put his hand up for an AFL recall after leading the club's reserves side to a stirring win after trailing by 40 points at the main break.
Now Soldo is desperate to link up with Nankervis for the seventh time in his career - and the first time since 2017.
"It's been a couple of years since Toby and I have played together. I'm pretty excited because he is a great player and he played a terrific game in the VFL," Soldo said.
"He's back to playing at almost 100 per cent capacity and he is a premiership ruckman, so he is a valuable asset to the team.
"I'm not too sure what the coaches will decide. We've obviously got Noah Balta, Mabiol Chol and Callum Coleman-Jones who have all rucked this year, and then there is Toby and myself.
"So there is five right there that are healthy enough to play, and it's all up to the coaches now. Whoever does play, I'm sure the coaches will have enough faith in those players."