Cunnington does not make that statement lightly, having recently watched his father, Alan, battle a life-threatening infection.
Alan's fight for life began when he was flown to Geelong Hospital with a suspected severe bout of gastroenteritis.
But he was soon diagnosed with an infection and rushed into surgery, after which he fell into a coma.
For 11 long days Cunnington, his mother and siblings kept a bedside vigil at the hospital, with the 22-year-old missing the Roos' round 13 and 14 games against Fremantle and Greater Western Sydney.
Cunnington told NMFC.com.au on Thursday his dad had always been his hero but was an even bigger inspiration now he had started to win his health battle.
"He's an absolute fighter. If I take half of his fight and courage it's definitely going to help me out as a footballer," Cunnington said.
"Once he woke up it was still pretty rocky but we knew physically he could fight it.
"It's still always going to be a long road, but he's just such a fighter he's pulling through pretty well."
Cunnington said his father's health woes began two months ago when the dairy farmer unknowingly suffered internal bleeding after being crushed by a cow.
A couple of months later, he suffered a small cut that became infected.
"He was just sick that night. Mum and Jack came in from milking the next morning and saw Dad and it just really went downhill quickly," Cunnington said.
"The infection got into his bloodstream and he was just going in and out of [consciousness].
"He had to be flown down to Geelong and operated on as quickly as possible … just scary."
Initially after the operation, Cunnington thought he would still be able to make it to Perth in time to take on the Dockers.
After being told the operation had gone well, Cunnington booked a flight to Perth for the following day. But the next morning he was told Alan had slipped into a coma.
"It just went downhill from then, the next couple of months. It wasn't just a one-night thing, it was a long road," Cunnington said.
"The first four or five days looking back now his life was on the line – it was just surreal.
"We would go back (home) – we rarely spent any time away from the hospital – but when we did it was like dad was just outside, gone to get dinner or something like that."
Cunnington returned to North training in the week leading up to its round 15 clash with Richmond. However, he was still undecided about whether to return that round as his father was improving but still not out of the woods.
However, Alan encouraged Cunnington to play, asking just one thing in return – a goal.
So when Cunnington kicked a goal early in the fourth quarter against the Tigers, it was an emotional moment for father and son.
"Apparently when I kicked that goal he got all tearful because he had been watching it on the TV," Cunnington said.
"Then I went straight to Geelong after the game and he broke down again. It was just good to make him happy."
Cunnington said his dad's battle had helped put football in perspective.
"Obviously when you're hurting I look at dad now and nothing hurts," he said.
"You just try to keep fighting and even if you have a bad game it's not the end of the world."
Nick Bowen is a reporter with AFL Media. Follow him on Twitter @AFL Media.
