Travis Varcoe will dedicate the AFL grand final to his sister Maggie, hoping she watches over him one last time during a tumultuous September.
The Collingwood defender and his family were left devastated when she died on August 31, following a freak football accident in Adelaide.
Varcoe has set aside his grief to play important roles in the Magpies' three finals.
His fierce physical play will be a major asset on Saturday in the clash with West Coast.
The 2009 and 2011 Geelong premiership player has no doubt Maggie is keeping an eye on him.
"It's been pretty difficult, obviously Maggie was doing something she loved and in a way it's probably the closest I've felt to her," Varcoe said.
"I definitely know she's looking over me and hopefully she does it for one more game.
"Without even knowing it she's probably helped me in a lot more ways even though she's passed us physically."
Asked about his decision to keep playing after her death, Varcoe said he and his sister shared the same philosophy - you can't be sad forever.
Varcoe said the support of his teammates had also been crucial.
"You have your family and you can always lean on them for support but they're grieving too - you have another little family here," he said.
"To have 45 other blokes willing to do anything for you is a pretty special feeling. I owe them a lot."
Varcoe tried to repaid them at Thursday training, reading out a few thoughts that Maggie had written down for her teammates before their ill-fated grand final.
"I just wanted to share with them that if you could script it, I would have thought it was meant for me - something she would actually write to me," Varcoe said.
Adding to the family theme, Varcoe's four-year-old daughter Frankie was cradled on his lap for Friday's grand final parade.
Varcoe played 138 games for Geelong before starting at Collingwood in 2015 - he reached the 200 milestone last month.
"I never thought I'd have the opportunity to come back to the big dance - it's been a credit to these boys," he said.
"Just being here isn't enough, I don't think. You might as well go all the way."
