The rise to the top of AFL football has been as sharp and dramatic for Matthew Stokes as the falls.

The two-time premiership hero has documented his daily struggles since being forced out of the game after carving out a fortuitous career that almost never materialised.

"My former teammate, Cam Mooney, was a great mentor through that time (in 2015)," Stokes told Nine media.

"We'd speak weekly, and he said, even if you don't like the decisions, the only thing that will reflect on you is the way you deal with such news.

"I wasn't perfect, but I tried."

Stokes was raised in Darwin playing cricket and early on tried his hand at rugby league since junior Australian rules at the time required players to be at least 11 years old.

The Larrakia man excelled in basketball, winning an under-14 best and fairest award aged 7.

The 2007 Premiership-winning Cats side. Picture: Geelong Cats.

He debuted in the Territory's premier football league aged 14 where his father John had played 148 games for Palmerston.

The potential for an AFL calling was soon clear when Stokes joined future stars Luke Hodge, Luke Ball and Nick Dal Santo in an Australian under-17 team.

But Stokes had to wait to secure a spot for three years after his teenage contemporaries - even taking up zookeeping at one point - when Geelong called his name with the 61st pick in the 2005 draft.

Two years later the 2007 premiership-winning campaign was Stokes' second most prolific year with 32 goals, only bettered the following season with 38.

Stokes experienced another AFL flag in 2011, but the small forward's star was fading.

The coaches knew it, the list manager and recruiters knew it too, and so did Stokes.

"Looking back, I don't begrudge them at all," he said.

"I was over 30 and couldn't kick further than 35 metres.

"I would have done the same if I was in their shoes, but in the moment it was hard."

Stokes pleaded with the Cats for one more year at the end of 2015 to play 11 more games in order to reach the 200-game milestone.

"Eventually, after some sleepless nights when I wrestled with a sense I had unfinished business, I decided to confront the reality," Stokes said.

A job inside the AFL offices became vacant after the club gave Stokes the tap on the shoulder.

But, four weeks later, Essendon called on the services of the 189-game veteran in the wake of the supplements scandal.

Stokes said his post-AFL career was comical at times after hanging up the boots for good.

"It wasn't so funny at the time when none of my suits fitted me," he said.

"I had enjoyed saying yes to muffins and takeaway food, and a beer too much.

"I had already dealt with a rash appearing on my neck from the collar of the shirt that I wore doing part-time work while playing, but this was another level.

"I didn't even know how to do up a tie properly when I began working."

Stokes has been more fortunate outside of the game compared to others, but his post football life was a reality check.

"I looked at my first post-footy pay packet and thought, where the rest of it is," Stokes said.

"I remember being asked to set up an (online) meeting in my first week.

"I said no worries, then hid my phone under my desk to google 'setting up a meeting on outlook' away from the eyes of new colleagues.

"Everyone seemed to know my name, but I could not perform the most basic office function."

Stokes said the real world experience had been humbling.

"The key is to find passions outside football and see whether you can leverage that into a career," he said.

"Mine was always to help better my people, and my connections to people in the First Nations community locally was so vital in learning about life and keeping perspective on what working in that space was like."

Story by Andrew Mathieson