[11] In the 2011 pre-season, Prestia was earmarked by coach Guy McKenna as the choice for the player likely to have the best career amongst the Suns' underage recruits.

[25] Despite interest from multiple Victorian clubs including Melbourne and St Kilda, Prestia stayed true to the Suns and signed a three-year contract extension to remain on the Gold Coast until the end of 2016.

[26][27] Prestia had an outstanding pre-season ahead of 2014, showing real determination in training and recording a personal best in the two kilometre time trial.

[35] He played his first football that year in the club's final NAB Challenge hit-out, showing no signs of his injury with 29 disposals in the draw against the Brisbane Lions.

[37] round 3's loss to Geelong saw Prestia continue what AFL Media called a "rich vein of form", with a team-high 29 disposals in the match.

[41] He had played in all eight matches to that point in the season, recording equal-career bests in average disposals and goals per game as well as leading the competition for total clearances.

[46] For the second straight year Prestia would suffer a season ending knee injury when he sustained a knock in the club's round 16 win over Brisbane.

[51] He did so on the 31st of August, setting the table for the two clubs to arrange a deal for his exchange[52] He had played 95 games with Gold Coast over a six-year period.

[74] He turned in a starring performance in what would be a premiership winning side, contributing 25 disposals and a goal and earning two votes in the Norm Smith Medal.

[75] In receiving a premiership medal he became the first inaugural Gold Coast Suns player to do so since he made his debut there in the club's first match six years earlier.

[81] A minor re-occurrence in early March saw him fail to play in round 1, instead making his return to football through the VFL the following week.

[84] He was named to make his return to AFL football in round 3 but was withdrawn from the team just a day later when he suffered a fresh glute strain at training, reportedly unrelated to his earlier soft-tissue injuries.

[87] He remained in the side for a further three weeks including in round 7 where he sustained a minor calf injury and sat out the closing stages of that match.

[94][95][96] The following week he was among Richmond's best players when he recorded 28 disposals, six clearances and a game-high 11 score involvements in a win over Adelaide, earning him five coaches award votes.

[97] In round 18 he posted a career-best total of three goals against St Kilda in a performance that earned him a maximum 10 coaches award votes.

[104] In the season-ending knock-out preliminary final loss to Collingwood that followed, Prestia recorded 24 disposals but was labelled by Fox Footy as "below his best".

[119] Prestia was best on ground in a win over his old side the Suns the following week, recording team highs in disposals (28) and tackles (nine) while also contributing eight clearances and seven score involvements to earn nine of a possible ten coaches votes.

[124][125][126][127] At season's end Prestia was named in the squad of 40 players in the running for All-Australian selection that year, though ultimately went unselected in the final team.

[137] In the grand final, Prestia collected 11 first-quarter disposals before attracting a tag from the Giants' Matt de Boer and finishing with 22 total in his side's 89-point victory that earned him a second premiership in three years.

[140] Ahead of the 2020 season, Prestia was labelled by the AFL's statistical partner Champion Data as an 'elite' midfielder, the top category for his position.

[145] He had a slightly reduced training load in the early weeks of the 2019/20 off-season, resting his legs to treat some lingering achilles tendonitis from the season prior.

[146] After returning to full training in January, Prestia was a notable omission from the AFL's fundraising State of Origin for Bushfire Relief Match in the final week of February.

[147][148] He went on to feature in both of the club's pre-season matches in March, before earning nine coaches votes as best on ground with 25 disposals and a goal in round 1's win over Carlton.

[149][150][151] The match was the first of what was to be a 17-round season, played under extraordinary conditions imposed on the league as a result of the rapid progression of the coronavirus pandemic into Australia.

[162][163] In mid-July, Prestia traveled to Queensland and by the end of month he had joined his teammates after clearing the state's mandated 14-day quarantine period.

[164][165][166] Prestia spent a week in hospital and underwent surgery again in August to clear a golden staph infection in the original surgical wound, for which he would also required treatment with intravenous antibiotics and which would continue to delay his return to football.

[14] He became a three-time premiership player the following week, collecting 14 disposals and kicking two goals including the first of the match in Richmond's 31-point victory over Geelong.

[177][178] After a two-month training period at full health, Prestia sustained a hamstring strain in mid-February that ruled him out from participating in pre-season matches.

[14][184] Prestia bested that output in round 2, earning seven coaches votes as second-best afield with a team-high 29 disposals, four clearances and fourt tackles.

[195][196][197][198] Despite finishing out the entirety of that round 15 loss, Prestia would sustain his third hamstring strain and fourth soft tissue injury of the year during the match and would face another four week stint on the sidelines.