As published in the round 19 edition of the AFL Record.

It might have been one of football’s great modern fairy tales.

Player in career-best form ruptures achilles, sparking fears he might never be the same again.

Player comes back, plays as well as ever, team wins premiership.

Unfortunately for Jarryd Roughead and Hawthorn, the story did not quite unfold that neatly.

A mere 10-point Grand Final shortfall was enough to change the narrative.

"Mentally I felt good in the finals series last year, but physically, looking back on it now, I was probably cooked," Roughead told the AFL Record.

"If we had won the flag, it would be totally different – it would have been a good story of coming back from an achilles and winning a flag.

"But you fall short by 10 points, and you end up being told, or you just know, you were probably cooked. It’s a bit tough."

Thankfully though, that's not 'The End'. Not nearly.

As far as Roughead is concerned, the twist in the plot has merely extended the tale.

This season, he and the Hawks have taken emphatic steps towards writing in that happy ending.

Leading the Coleman Medal with 54 goals and averaging 16 disposals a game, the 26-year-old has been one of the standout performers in 2013.

He is the leading Hawk in the highly regarded AFL Coaches Association award (11th overall), and seems a strong chance to win All-Australian selection for the first time. He might also be in the running for a maiden club best and fairest.

Such recognition would be just reward for a player who has developed into one of the game’s most complete packages: big and strong enough to mark and kick goals, athletic enough to compete with the AFL's best ruckmen, and sufficiently agile and clean below his knees to win clearances as a ruck-rover.

He could play as a key defender too, if he wanted to – having trained there for the whole of last summer – but that is one of the few positions his coach Alastair Clarkson has not felt the need to use him in this year.

With his teammate and close friend Lance Franklin regularly grabbing the awards and headlines throughout their nearly nine years together at the Hawks, Roughead's value has not always been fully celebrated.

But if the wider AFL community is only now shining the spotlight squarely upon him, those at Waverley have appreciated Roughead's importance for some time, according to Hawthorn captain Luke Hodge.

"I know a lot of people externally have pumped up that this has been his best year, but we believe he's been playing this kind of football the last three years," Hodge said.

"In previous years, 'Roughy' has been doing the harder work up the ground, and it's been 'Buddy' (Franklin) who has got the reward of getting the goals.

"But it's sort of changed a bit this year and it's good to see Roughy getting rewarded for a lot of the harder work that he's put in."

Champion Data statistics illustrate Hodge's point.

Roughead has gathered 47 per cent of his possessions inside forward 50 in 2013 – up from around 33 per cent in the previous two years – thanks largely to the inclusion of specialist ruckman Max Bailey in the 22.

He is also benefiting from improved accuracy, shooting at 73 per cent in front of goal, compared with 59.4 per cent in 2012.

The result has been a career-best rate of 3.2 goals a game, placing him on track to pass his previous highest tally of 75 goals, achieved in the premiership year of 2008, sometime during the finals,

At the same time, he is still getting up the ground, providing headaches as a pinch-hitting midfielder at centre bounces, where his large frame makes him a difficult match-up.

For his part, Roughead is content to classify his form as career-best.

"It's been my most consistent season, for sure," he said.

"The 2008 season was pretty good because we won the flag and I contributed to that, but this year, I'm just in the game more.

"In 2008, I was predominantly a forward.

"This year, I've been able to play four or five or six different positions in any given week."

Importantly for Hawthorn's finals hopes, he is also feeling much fresher than in 2012.

"I'm definitely recovering a lot better this year from games," he said.

"Last year, I was playing ruck for a fair bit of each game, where you're bumping bodies with blokes that are 10kg heavier and trying to run all over the field. That is taxing.

"I'm feeling a lot better than what I was last year, it's fair to say."

For a country boy who has always put his team first, personal glory holds little interest – as his assessment of his Coleman Medal chances showed.

"I wouldn't have thought I'd be a chance to win it," he said.

"I'd rather win a different medal, to be honest."

That, of course, would be a second premiership medal. And sitting a game clear on top of the ladder, the Hawks are ideally placed to deliver it.

As Roughead acknowledges, though, premierships are not won in July or August, and peaking at the right time will be critical.

"It's just who is better in September," he said.

"We were lucky enough in 2008 that we were better in September, and the Swans probably proved the same thing again last year."

Although the group was determined not to dwell on the 2012 Grand Final disappointment, shifting its focus quickly to the challenges ahead, the feeling is not easily forgotten.

Added to the hunger is a sense of urgency, with new forces looming on the horizon.

"After winning one and losing one, you know what the feeling is like for both," Roughead said.

"Who knows what's going to happen over the next few years?

"Gold Coast and Greater Western Sydney will start to win games, and they're probably going to become powerhouses of the competition.

"So, while we've got a chance to win one, we might as well make hay while the sun shines.

"I was only 21 when we won it in 2008, so to get another one would be unreal."