But the years of demanding more from his body than is reasonable look finally to be starting to take their toll. Now he needs to adopt a new set of core beliefs to maximise the output from his remaining years in the game.

His 12 possessions against Carlton last week, following a 17-possession game the week before against the Lions, were not customary in the eyes of fans and commentators. But what stood out to me was his running gait, and how different it looked to the young man I watched at Olympic Park so many years ago.

Last Friday night, he looked flat-footed, almost running on his heels at times, even when at top speed. Because of this, his top speed wasn’t enough for him to have an impact on the game. Usually, when a player's movement is inhibited like this, he's playing sore. If that’s the case, he should be rested until his issues subside.

If he isn’t injured, then it may be a conditioning issue. Perhaps then Sydney need to adopt the model Adelaide have used with Taylor Walker, removing him from matches for a period so they could give him an in-season pre-season to get his conditioning levels where they need to be for the rigours of the game.

There is little use asking players such as Hannebery how their bodies are feeling and if they think they’re right to keep playing. Their advantage over other players in many ways comes from refusing to listen to what their bodies are telling them. It would take delicacy from the Swans' coaching and medical staff to override the opinion of someone as competent and driven as Hannebery, but there is enough data forming to make an almost unarguable case for change.

Despite all the training and match-day abuse Hannebery has inflicted on his body, he’s still young enough to have plenty of good football left in him if he loses the "more is better" mindset.

It is routine to use a car metaphor to describe a footballer, but this metaphor would be more accurate if it was framed as the driver and the car. The driver is the footballer's mind and the car is his body.

In Hannebery’s case, the driver is enormously competitive and resilient, but he no longer has access to a brand new high-performance car.

Here’s hoping he can change the way he drives and maintain his car before it’s time to trade it in.