The last movie that made premiership player Brody Mihocek cry was the Pixar animation Coco.
When it was suggested that would make a good headline, he told ABC Sport: “Do it, it’s OK to cry.”
“A lot of kids’ animation, kids’ movies would make me cry more than anything else.
“The night before a game, instead of watching footy, I put a movie on. A really good movie can put me in a good mood for a good game, weird enough.”
It is a headspace a long way from where he was 10 years ago, toiling away in the VFL.
Back then, he was losing his love of footy, overlooked in multiple drafts, working 40 hours a week and doing extras around that, all to try and get noticed by an AFL club.
Brody Mihocek was drafted at age 25 and is now a premiership player and five-time club leading goal kicker. (Getty: Robert Cianflone)
It was not until he was 25 that he was picked up by Collingwood in the 2018 rookie draft after four years in the VFL.
This Saturday, he will run out against West Coast for his 150th game, as a five-time leading goal kicker at the Magpies, a father and premiership forward.
“I would have loved to have been picked up at 18, and I believe I should have, but it wasn’t meant to be,” he said.
When he was not taken as a teenager right away, his managers told him he needed to get out of Tasmania and move to Victoria.
“I just couldn’t afford to be out on my own, so I had to stay in Tassie. I made the call to just stay locally, work a job, save money, to get over here,” Mihocek said.
“I needed to work different jobs. I was working in Cotton On. I was the first male ever to work in Cotton On in Burnie. I was a plumber, labourer.
As soon as he finished the season and bought a car, he got the boat over to Melbourne.
“(All) with the goal of making the AFL – and you get so consumed in doing that, you lose the fun of football,” he said.
Collingwood has tabled a one-year contract extension for Brody Mihocek but the Magpie wants to play on. (Getty: AFL Photos/Russell Freeman)
Mihocek rediscovered his love for the game at Port Melbourne when his mentality shifted towards trying to enjoy where he was at, instead of having the outcome of “will it happen?”
“It was more just, if it happens, good, if not, I’m happy with where I’m at,” he said.
Yet Mihocek was still putting in extras, doing laps of Melbourne Rectangular Stadium at 5am and getting gym sessions in before work.
“I love the grind of all that and working hard, but it does take a toll,” he said.
“I didn’t know if it was all going to be worth it, but it has been in the end.“
He kicked four goals on debut against Fremantle in round 11 of the 2018 season and never fell out of the side outside of injuries.
He admits his initial one-year contract was “nerve-wracking”.
“You could be out just as fast as you got in,” he said.
Brody Mihocek with son Arthur and Scott Pendlebury after a Collingwood win. (Getty: AFL Photos/Michael Willson)
Collingwood have currently tabled a one-year contract extension to Mihocek, which would take him through to the end of 2026.
“It’s a tricky one. You want more as you get older and I know it’s a business as well,” Mihocek said.
“I haven’t been in this position [before], so all you can do is go out there and try and play footy and keep it at the back of your mind.
“You’d love to sign right away, but these things take time.”
Mihocek is one of many mature-age recruits to have made a significant impact across the AFL in recent years.
Most notably, Tom Stewart was plucked from Geelong’s VFL system at age 23, then went on to become a five-time All Australian, premiership player and two-time club champion.
Following him, Shaun Mannagh and Lawson Humphries are making waves at the Cats this year.
Callum Wilkie won St Kilda’s best and fairest after being runner-up twice and Sam Durham is now one of Essendon’s best, as is Jai Newcombe at Hawthorn.
Brody Mihocek was drafted as a defender but moved straight into Collingwood’s forward line. (Getty: AFL Photos/Josh Chadwick)
While much preferring to have been picked up as a teenager, Mihocek says there is something in entering the AFL system with a bit more life development under your belt.
“Coming in at 24 was good for my development because I had moved out of home, I worked a full-time job,” he said.
“And it was just more being treated like an adult and I knew life outside football.”
Mihocek was lucky, though, too.
The year he debuted, he played in a grand final (which Collingwood lost to West Coast) and has only missed out on finals twice in his seven-year career.
“Even under Bucks [Nathan Buckley], it was a special team and we had fun,” Mihocek said.
“And now under Fly [Craig McRae] it’s even more fun.
“I believe what I’ve done is quite special and a lot of other blokes in the team would say the same.
“To get to 150 games and to do what I’ve done, I think I should be very proud.”