Perhaps the most lasting images of the 2012 AFL season will be those of Sydney Swan Nick Malceski kicking the winning goal in the Grand Final and taking off on a euphoric run with his joyous teammates.

For Malceski, just playing sport was a momentous victory in itself, let alone winning Australian sport’s biggest prize on the grandest stage of all, the MCG.

He has undergone three surgeries to repair ACL injuries on his knees since 2004.

While the first was a traditional reconstruction on his left knee that cost him his entire debut season, Malceski hurt his right knee in 2008 and 2011.

On both occasions he underwent LARS surgery and returned to action just 12 weeks after the procedure.

The 28-year-old Swan used his association with former Sydney and current Fremantle stoppages coach Mark Stone to contact Freo Docker Anthony Morabito, who underwent a hybrid graft operation in January, which is a combination of LARS and a hamstring tendon.

"I gave Anthony a call and had a chat about LARS. I gave him the facts about how quickly you get back into it," Malceski told The Herald Sun recently.

Malceski spoke with Morabito for about half an hour just two days after the Freo Docker had re-injured his left knee at training.

“He painted a completely different picture to what I was feeling at that stage,” Morabito said.

Morabito, who was due to be out of contract at the end of this season, was struggling with the thought of another 12 months of rehabilitation.

“Speaking to Nick really lifted my spirits,” he said.

“He told me that after he’d had his surgery, within 10 weeks, he was basically feeling a million bucks.”

“He had his LARS operations done in February, and each time he got back by round 8, so for me that was quite heartening to hear that from him and what he’s been through.”

“To be able to kick the winning goal in the Grand Final, post two of those operations, it does give you hope.

“Like Nick said to me: Anything is possible. You can’t write yourself off just because everyone says it’s another recon.”

Morabito has also been in close contact with 22-year-old Geelong forward Daniel Menzel, whose third knee operation last December was a LARS procedure.

Morabito and Menzel played representative fooball against each other and were drafted together.

“He’s five weeks ahead of me, so it’s good to be able to compare stuff with him,” Morabito said.

“We speak weekly about the progressions we are making and I’m able to ask him what it felt like at that stage of his rehab.

“It’s quite good to have a young player in the same position as me, the same age and same sort of upbringing.

“It’s quite heartening to be able to bounce off him.”