Port Adelaide forward Sam Powell-Pepper is set to celebrate his 150th AFL game in his team's clash against the Western Bulldogs on Saturday.
The 27-year-old has featured in all seven of the Power's matches this season after a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament restricted him to just three games in 2024.
The Noongar man said his football journey mirrored the ups and downs of his personal life, but he will always maintain a sense of gratitude.
"It has been a journey, such an amazing journey," Powell-Pepper said, via the Power's website.
"From where I have come in life from early childhood and all the adversity I have had to overcome, I have taken every opportunity that has come my way – and I am grateful for them.
"For me, it was about finding perspective and having gratitude for all that I have around me ... beautiful kids, my wife and even still being at the club every day.
"This is such an amazing job to have – most people are in 9-to-5 jobs with their challenges – I am just grateful for this opportunity (and) I am filled with gratitude."
Powell-Pepper has made a strong return to form, particularly over the past month, averaging more than a goal per game and terrorising opposition defenders with his pressure on the ball carrier.
"All the cobwebs are out now and I am now starting to play some decent footy," he said.
"I do pride myself on the pressure we bring with our tackling.
"It is all about being competitive – the opposition can gain momentum pretty quickly, they can find their confidence pretty quick – we have to match that – not just physically, but mentally."
Powell-Pepper is heralded for his leadership around the club and is a member of the Power's four-man leadership group.
He signed a four-year contract extension last August which will see him tied to the club until at least the end of 2029.
His coach Ken Hinkley lauded Powell-Pepper's journey from a talented yet raw teenager, to one of the key leaders in the team.
"He is a great person and the way he has gone about it, with the challenges he has overcome from a very young Sam to now a very mature dad," Hinkley said.
"He has had to come back from a serious knee injury last year (and he) creates enormous spirit for our footy club.
"He is a spiritual leader – we are all proud of him."
The tenth-placed Power take on the Western Bulldogs on Saturday at Mars Stadium in Ballarat.
