TOM GILLIES can list Brian Lake's football resume, at least at Hawthorn, on a moment's notice.

The reason? It could have been him.

Gillies' AFL career was a classic case of sliding doors, where one decision cost him potentially winning a premiership and instead left him playing for one of the worst teams in recent history.

The scenario was this: at the end of 2011, the Hawks offered Gillies a lucrative three-year deal, but Geelong had him and refused to trade despite Gillies playing only eight games in three seasons.

The then-21-year-old defender, who was full-back in the TAC Cup's 2008 Team of the Year, managed just five more matches in the 2012 season – and the Cats subsequently delisted him.

Melbourne gave him an AFL lifeline, and he played in the first two rounds for a 79-point loss to Port Adelaide and a 148-point defeat to Essendon. Gillies was never seen again at AFL level.

Meanwhile, Lake, a dual All Australian with the Western Bulldogs, joined Hawthorn a year after the Gillies deal fell over, for the start of a historic flag three-peat between 2013 and 2015.

The 195cm backman won the Norm Smith Medal in the first of those Grand Finals to make his experience even more memorable.

Gillies' manager at the time, Tim Hazell, of Vivid Sports (then Velocity Sports), told AFL.com.au this week that things would have been different in the current trade environment.

"Hawthorn was looking for someone to play on the gorillas, and I remember thinking it was a really good opportunity for Tom," Hazell said.

"We were open and honest with Geelong, but, unfortunately, it got put down pretty quick.

"Back then, allowing a player to move while under contract was frowned upon. Now, we would have just forced the matter and got it done."

So, where did it all go wrong?

Gillies was supposed to be part of the Cats' succession plan for life after Tom Harley, Darren Milburn and eventually Matthew Scarlett.

But that didn't factor in Tom Lonergan's transformation from solid forward to outstanding defender, alongside mature-age recruit Harry Taylor's rise to All Australian status.

Lonergan's lockdown role was what Gillies craved, but he generally played as a third tall at VFL level on smaller forwards, by necessity. 

Hazell informed Gillies in mid-2011 that the Hawks' national recruiting manager, Graham Wright, had inquired about him switching to Waverley Park, and organised a meeting. 

"It sort of felt like you were cheating on your girlfriend. The Cats were playing finals and I was looking elsewhere," Gillies told AFL.com.au.

"I rolled into work the next day with an uncomfortable sort of feeling, after speaking to Alastair Clarkson and Hawthorn … they were telling me what I wanted to hear, but it sounded like a great opportunity."

Clarkson was willing to give him an extended run down back in his preferred role. That was enough to prompt Gillies to invite Geelong coach Chris Scott for a coffee, after the Cats won the 2011 premiership, to reveal he wanted to join the Hawks. 

They had never spoken at length, other than in exit interviews, before that day. 

Scott was confident Gillies would play a lot of senior football in 2012 and wanted to keep him. But the ex-Dandenong Stingray was still keen to play for Hawthorn by the end of the conversation – and told his coach as much.

That didn't stop Scott asking for a lift home.

"It was really awkward," Gillies recalled. "The car ride was just dead silent."

The trade collapsed, and Gillies fronted up to pre-season with Geelong.

He played four of the first seven games in the 2012 season, including a career-best 19-possession effort against the Demons, but suffered an ankle injury and missed the next fortnight.

Gillies returned in round 10 with 18 disposals against the Giants, only to re-injure the same ankle at the following week's main training session. That GWS clash was his last for Geelong's AFL team, but he went on to play in a VFL flag that year.

Tom Gillies in action for the Cats against GWS in 2012. Picture: AFL Photos

The Cats advised Gillies to pursue a trade, but the Hawks snapped up Lake then versatile tall Matt Spangher and there was only the odd bit of interest elsewhere.

Ultimately, his departure from Geelong came the next week, in what Gillies remembers as "literally a 90-second meeting" that ended with a few seconds of silence, a handshake then Scott's final words of "Well, there's not much more to say".

Crossing to Melbourne was an eye-opener. Gillies noticed more of a fitness focus at the Demons, but the overall standards paled in comparison to the Cats. 

Essendon had 78 inside 50s on the night that proved to be Gillies' final AFL game, a nightmare for any defender.

Making matters worse, he played through a strained groin and was tasked with manning Bombers speedster Alwyn Davey – fresh on the ground as the substitute – in the last term.

Another problem for Gillies was that Melbourne's lack of talent wasn't such an issue in the key defensive stocks.

James Frawley was an All Australian in 2010 and Tom McDonald finished third in the best and fairest the previous season, leaving opportunities scarce.

A calf injury set him back further, and he admitted his mental health "probably dropped away". 

One final slap in the face followed, when Gillies was picked in Casey's VFL reserves squad on his return from injury. He pretended to still be injured, then the same thing happened a week later – and he refused to play.

Selectors got the message, and Gillies was in the VFL seniors the next round, but as a forward, where he played out the season and ended his elite football career.

Gillies after a contest in what proved his final AFL game. Picture: AFL Photos

The 27-year-old is back living in Grovedale, has two children with his wife Jamie, is working as a carpenter and wants to one day be a policeman.

Gillies remains a forward for Geelong Football League powerhouse St Mary's, which has lost the past two Grand Finals. 

He cherishes the fact he was able to live his AFL dream across 15 games and five seasons, even if it didn't turn out exactly as planned. And he would do it all again.

"If you dwell on everything, you'll just be miserable all day," Gillies said. 

"If you don't laugh about it, you'll cry. I could be Brian Lake, a Norm Smith medallist and triple premiership player at full-back, but it's just not meant to be. 

"If you're not grateful for the stuff you do get, it's going to be a pretty long 75 years for the rest of your life."