Television sport viewing becomes a theme during a conversation with the 22-year-old. A quick look at his Twitter activity this year covers references to golf, soccer, tennis, cricket, basketball and American football. Oxley is close with winged Collingwood teammate Steele Sidebottom, with whom he plays golf regularly. "He loves every sport like I do. That's a good passion to share," Oxley says.

But back in the national capital, that sophisticated sporting palate didn't extend to the game in which he is starting to make a name for himself. "I don't think I knew what AFL was until I moved up to Queensland," Oxley laughs.

"Apparently I wasn't enjoying soccer when I played in Canberra and I said, 'Oh this AFL looks fun, I might try that', and never looked back."

The conversion process didn't end at Oxley jnr either. "If you asked Dad what his favourite sport is now, he probably wouldn't be able to pronounce rugby league."

The second turning point was less than three years ago. Oxley - then a skilful but undersized tall forward - had been overlooked for consecutive drafts. Playing for Brisbane-based NEAFL club Redland, he kicked seven goals in round two. But a string of injuires befell the club and 192-centimetre Oxley was switched to defence.

Redland football manager Martin King watched Oxley go through the Queensland underage talent pathway. He  described the move down back as having a transformative effect. "He was a real slow burner. Similar to a lot of Queensland kids, he was a little bit behind in his development," King recalls.

"We had an elimination final against Southport down the coast, and he just did a couple of things where you thought, 'Oh gee ... he might be half a chance'."

He was. Three months later, the Magpies added Oxley to their ever-expanding list of Queenslanders, plucking the still slender teen at pick 35 in the rookie draft.

Oxley gets back to Redland at every opportunity, using the Pies' round-one game against the Brisbane Lions as a chance to attend the club's jumper presentation. "I still feel like I owe them a lot."

A strong first half of 2013 in the VFL led to a promotion to the senior list, and just like Jack Watts and Alex Fasolo before him, Oxley became a Queen's Birthday AFL debutant. He played the next week against the Western Bulldogs before returning to the Pies' seconds. But with Collingwood's exodus of veterans in operation, he was elevated permanently at the end of the season. Things were looking promising, but there was soon to be a setback.

The Magpies' run with injuries in 2014 was well documented. Oxley's misfortune was one of the lower profile tales of the year, but his ankle issue was one of the most debilitating ailments at the club.

"There were difficult times where we had setbacks. There was a spike in improvement very early, then it sort of plateaued out several times throughout the year," Oxley says. He was confined to just three games in the VFL mid-season before being sent for surgery.

One of the positives about the club's list of absentees was that there was no shortage of company in the rehab group. Of the many who went in and out, Oxley identified the now-retired Quinten Lynch as a role model. "He worked harder than I'd seen anyone in my life. Doing a bike session next to him, or boxing, or weights, you think you're going as intense as you can. You look at him and he just brings you along to another level."

Oxley said Lynch was particularly welcoming of younger players, and nothing like the bogeyman he had imagined. "The 'Big Q' that I'd watched on TV, I thought he was going to eat me, but he wasn't too bad after all."

Oxley was back in full training by the second month of the Pies' extended pre-season. He impressed enough to grab a spot in the side for round one, and last Saturday against Adelaide he played his first full AFL game. His three previous senior games had reaped a total of 18 disposals. Against the Crows, Oxley had 33 and was universally regarded as a beacon of assuredness in a sloppy Collingwood team. His 12 rebounds from the defensive 50 was the equal-most from a Magpie in any game over the past decade.

The man himself is surprised by how swiftly things have clicked. "Having that restricted pre-season I thought it might have taken a few more weeks and months to get back into finding the game and the structure around it.

"I really love to be able the read the play and be like a quarterback/goalkeeper. You can be damaging offensively and you've got the whole ground ahead of you to use."

Oxley credits part of his rise to the Pies' senior assistant coach Robert Harvey - the defender's assigned mentor as part of the club's duty of care coach initiative. "Being the player he was, he's an extremely knowledgeable man and it helps a lot," Oxley says of the dual Brownlow medallist.

"It's about outside of footy as well, just to make sure you've got a steady head. He just keeps it basic. Day by day he doesn't really put the heat on you to do things that might be out of your comfort zone, it's just more work to your strengths and go from there."

With the rebounding triumvirate of Heath Shaw, Heritier Lumumba and Nick Maxwell all having left the club in the past 18 months, Oxley knows there is a spot there to be taken. "Definitely the door opened once I saw that those guys moved on and it's something that I really aspired to, knowing that Nick Maxwell's gone last year and Heath Shaw a few years ago.

"There's definitely an opportunity for a lot of young guys including myself over the next few years."

Coach Nathan Buckley likes what he's seeing from the Queenslander. "His skill is obvious, he marks the ball well, he gets to the right positions, he's a smart footballer, utilises his strengths," Buckley said during the week.

"He'll play his fifth game of footy for us this week and he'll continue to blossom and grow."