Jackson Thurlow, who is determined to secure a spot in the AFL side, was attending a mentoring session held for first to third year players, when Bartel delivered a line that made Thurlow want to fight harder for his dream.
The 20-year-old, who entered feeling nervous about the direction of his career, left feeling confident and inspired.
“He said `don't count your games, make your games count','' Thurlow told The Examiner.
``I've only played the five AFL games, and hearing that opened it up to me that I will have to make it count when I do get another opportunity and not to waste it.
``A few things just clicked for me after Jimmy said that, just about the way I approach my footy.
That day, Bartel’s words of wisdom helped Thurlow to strip away the personal pressures that build when trying to break into an AFL team.
``I'm now going into games with a different mindset, as I was getting so worked up that I had to play well, and do, this, this and this to get into the AFL team, which is not the way you really need to be thinking.
``I was playing the game over in my head before I'd even ran out, which was stressful, but I've started seeing some improvements in my game since I've stopped stressing as much.
``The coaches could see I was putting that pressure on myself, and told me to just go out and play on instinct and that's what I'm doing now.''
In 2012 Thurlow was drafted at pick number 16 from Tasmania and since then he has played five AFL games.
This year Thurlow, who underwent hip surgery ahead of this year’s season, has only featured once, which was when the Cats went down to Port Adelaide in Round 6.
The 20-year-old has spent the rest of his weekends playing off half-back and on the wing in Geelong’s VFL side.
``In the VFL, I have been trying to work on a few little things which have been stopping me from getting into the AFL team, working on being stronger in the contest and winning those crucial one-on-ones,'' Thurlow said.
``I've been playing good VFL footy, which is all I can really do at the moment and push myself closer to the AFL.
``The vibe is that I am really close, and I've been the 26th man in the 25-man squad for four to five weeks, which is positive, but it is such a hard team to break in to.
``But that's the best way to be, as you have to really compete for that spot.''
With a new mindset inspired by Bartel, Thurlow is well on the road to making sure he achieves his number one goal of becoming a regular Cat on the AFL stage.
``Where I went wrong early in the year was there was so many things that I wanted to achieve, when there is only one thing - to get into the AFL team,” Thurlow said.
``If I can break in, hopefully I can just relish the opportunity, play some good footy and not get kicked out.''
