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“For me, I found it really helpful to stay engaged and learn things along the way. Looking back, it helped me round my game out being able to play at that lower level and develop different strengths of my own along the way.”

Those strengths are obvious now as he has developed the body to withstand the rigours of the game and hold his position in marking duels, using his elite ability to read the play to take intercept marks. His looks are still as deceiving as a Magic Eye image because he now carries a quiet confidence that has translated into on-field leadership.

When it was mentioned to teammate Jed Bews that Zach looked like a 12-year-old when he arrived as a rookie in 2017, the veteran was quick with a joke.

“Now he looks like he’s 15, so he’s aged a little bit,” Bews said.

“He’s been unbelievable. If you do the work and have a crack, which ‘Z’ has, eventually things will work out. Now ‘Z’ would be the first picked each week. He does his job week in, week out.”

To reach that point took time. Zach makes no secret of the fact the belief Cam had in him helped him keep striving to realise his talent when he was less than certain he would retain his place on the list.

“During those early years, where I wasn’t playing as regularly, he was huge for me, taking that extra time to help develop me as a player and staying engaged with the AFL group,” Zach said. “I was able to track his progress and learn things from his game while he also helped me.”

Late in 2021, in Zach’s 29th match, the hard work began to show results when he and his brother became the second set of brothers alongside Joel and Scott Selwood to poll eight coaches’ votes apiece in the same game.

The umpires only noticed Cam’s efforts, handing him three Brownlow votes and Zach none, but Geelong fans and club hierarchy took note of both performances.

Zach has played 72 of 79 matches since that game, establishing himself as a key player in the Cats’ back line, with the pair sharing the joy of playing alongside each other in the 2022 premiership, Zach saying “it felt like we were really clicking at the end of that year” as they won 16 in a row to take the flag. The Guthries became the 24th set of brothers to win a flag as teammates and the first since the Ablett brothers (Gary and Nathan) in 2007.

At that point, they had shared the field 48 times as Cam won his second Cats’ best and fairest, this time in a premiership year.

However, since that moment the script has flipped as injury struck Cam, restricting him to just 10 matches in the past two seasons while Zach flourished, finishing fourth in the 2023 best and fairest. He has played every match this year, his improvement being recognised beyond the Cats’ inner sanctum.

Champion Data’s Daniel Hoyne said this week that Zach had been rated in the Cats’ top five players on the ground in four of his past five finals.

Now it’s the younger brother lending an empathetic ear to his older, more experienced brother who has had to deal with being sidelined.

“It’s been challenging,” Zach said. “During this little period I’ve certainly understood the magnitude of being able to play AFL footy with your brother. It’s been disappointing not having him out there and when he comes back, I am looking forward to hopefully playing some footy on a regular basis with him again. I certainly won’t take it for granted.”

Cam remains out of the team as Geelong play the Brisbane Lions for a spot in the grand final, but he will be watching, as will the rest of the clan, brothers Ben and Josh and parents Andrew and Suzanne, quietly proud his brother has become the player they always believed he would become.

They reflected on his journey a month ago when Zach played his 100th game against West Coast in the final round before his parents and Ben joined him for a quiet dinner at Two Sugars on Pako in the heart of Geelong that night.

“They have all been such a good support to me, each person individually has had their input and having them as support during those times, especially when things aren’t going your way in your career, was invaluable,” Guthrie said.

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