Gold Coast Suns ruckman Josh Fraser says his youthful teammates can't use their sore bodies as an excuse for mediocrity.
The 209-game veteran knows all too well about the physical trials of Australian rules football and says his inexperienced team shouldn't expect to compete without pain.
"They've got to deal with it and adapt to it because it doesn't get easier," Fraser said.
"Next year is going to be harder again and the year after that - and before you know it they're five or six years into their career and let me tell you, it doesn't get easier after that."
The Suns have chopped and changed their line-up in order to give their battle-weary teenage recruits a much-needed rest.
But Fraser was unwilling to use that as an excuse for the side's poor performances, which most recently include a 70-point defeat at the hands of Sydney.
"We fell into a trap of playing a Sydney-style of footy last week and their bigger bodies just knocked us around," he said.
"But that's just the nature of footy."
Having lost his senior spot during Collingwood's race for the 2010 premiership, Fraser knows all too well about the expectations of the competition's leading sides. That's the benchmark he expects of his young charges.
"You could ask the top-four sides, they'd have sore boys as well."
"The quicker [our young players] adapt to recovery and adopting things that work well for them, the better off we'll be as a footy club."
The 202cm giant will return to the side that plays Richmond this Saturday after pulling out from the Sydney clash with a foot injury.
"I'd just come off a slight injury from the week before but it was more a case of resting up and making sure I was 100 per cent," he said.
"I was keen to play but I understand that we've got a pretty tough run home.”
Richmond 'host' Gold Coast at Cazalys Stadium on Saturday, with the bounce at 2.10pm (AEST).