Boomer saying he'll be the last to play 400 games

[BF Tiger]

Ablett's shoulder has cost him nearly a season, but if it is now sound it may have given the rest if his body a chance to recuperate. Could easily play the small forward role. So a chance.

Deledio, still relatively young and injury free. So a chance.

Bob Murphy is too far behind. Already 33 and not at 300 games. I could see him playing another three or four years - he has the skinny build familiar to Tuck, Bartlett and Fletcher - but that would still leave him 50+ games off.

 

[didaksrightfoot]

I don't think so sadly. Big guys often fall off a cliff. If he did play out the 9 year contract it'd be awesome and hilarious.

I don't think Buddy fits the mould of other big guys though.
I doubt he will get anywhere close to 400 but there's 2 obvious directions he could go in to prolong his career well into his 30's: he could either just focus on becoming a stay at home FF, or could drop a few kilos and just become a winger or high HFF'er and just keep running games out better than his opponent (which hes probably better suited to). As he gets older i doubt he can try to keep both his strength/size and pace/endurance but he could easily make a decision to just focus on one of those areas - and that could easily keep him as a useful AFL player well into his 30's.

 

[bugalugs213]

Ablett will go close i reckon.

 

[Naked_North]

Surely Franklin will get to 400? 218 games now, 7 years left on his contract.....

Never know with injuries ect - big guys usually fall away pretty quick

 

[Jobe Watson]

Deledio has been one of the most durable players in the AFL (missed just 12 games since his debut) and at 28 he's still only on just 225. Would need to play until 36-37 years old to get it, which is possible but unlikely considering his potential ankle problems.

Can't see anyone else of the current crop of players getting there, but someone will definitely get to 400 in the future.

 

[King_Steele]

I reckon Nick Dal Santo will come close to playing 400 games

 

[Ron The Bear]

I reckon Nick Dal Santo will come close to playing 400 games

He's about a month younger than Bartlett at the same mark, 8 months younger than Harvey, 17 months younger than Tuck and nearly two years astern of Fletcher.

 

[King_Steele]

He's about a month younger than Bartlett at the same mark, 8 months younger than Harvey, 17 months younger than Tuck and nearly two years astern of Fletcher.

He is only 31?

 

[LukasTheGreat]

Selwood would be doing alright wouldn't he? Started young, ton of finals, doesn't miss much footy.

Itll happen, with modern medicine getting better and better players will be out for less and less and will be able to keep going for longer.

 

[Ron The Bear]

He is only 31?

Comparative ages @ 291 games.

Think luck comes into it as well, if your club's travelling OK they're probably less likely to tap you on the shoulder and say we want to bring in younger players.

 

[Leeda]

It is probably right.. not out of lack of fitness but due to more players playing different positions.. Or yet.. I have just
thought that well there might actually be some players who will reach the milestone..

So there you go.. if i can't say no to it then who can... There is a challenge to someone else sometime in the future..

Go for it kiddo's reach the limits just because I say you can't... Yehaa..!

 

[MotleyLemon]

Maybe not one of those blokes you mentioned, but a player who has played pretty much every game since debut (Cotchin comes to mind) could make it if they're durable

Errr, Cotch missed about 20, or even over 20 games in his first 2 years didn't he? 25 now, "only" 130 odd games, don't see him making it.

 

[Stan_Darsh72]

Nick Dal Santo?

 

[blitzer]

There's no way he'll be the last. Medical technology continues to improve which means that previously career ending injuries will be fixed faster and faster. One day it will happen again.

I have no idea if any of the current crop will make it... You really need to play to around 37 as a minimum so its always hard to predict who will have that rare combination of talent and luck to get that far. Being versatile in terms of role definitely helps. I think its also useful if you have the capacity to play as a small forward, 3rd tall or loose man in defence in your final years which are probably the easiest roles all things considered.

Obviously it helps if you can play in some finals as well. Honestly though with equalisation what it is, you would hope that over a 20 year career the player would get to play a fair amount of finals.

If i had to bet on anyone i would think Ablett as my first choice since he is a prime candidate to play as a small forward. Franklin, Deledio and Pendlebury would also be some kind of chance but as they are younger there is more things that can go wrong.

One other thing that a lot of people probably don't think of. You need to be willing to play at less than your best for a few years. In your final years you won't be what you used to be at your peak and a lot of the stars of the game will have trouble coming to terms with that. Fletcher for instance is very modest and humble and could take that in his stride as long as he could still contribute to the team. That doesn't mean you won't still be a useful player but it might be the difference between being a top 5 player and a top 18 player.

 

[indy nile]

Errr, Cotch missed about 20, or even over 20 games in his first 2 years didn't he? 25 now, "only" 130 odd games, don't see him making it.

yeah, probably not, I didnt realise he'd missed all those games early. But all it takes is one bloke to play consistently until they're 37/38 and you have another 400 gamer.

 

[BOMBERS 4 LIFE!!!!]

He's right the demands of the game now are taxing on the players.

 

[The Passenger]

Andrew Gaff would be a chance. Nearly fell off my chair when i saw it was his hundredth last week

He is probably fairly low down on the susceptibility for soft tissue injuries. Isn't really physical or quick so his strongest attributes (stamina, straight kicking, reading the play, linking up) are unlikely to fade much at all with age. Hopefully heading into a period where the Eagles will play a good deal of finals. Major collision injuries are impossible to ignore. If his passion for the game stays strong he is a big chance to rack up a lot of games. Only missed 8 games in his first season and not missed one since.

In saying that saying someone is the most likely of current players to rack up 400 games is too big of a call. They are all long odds (Harvey aside) to do so, and anyone Gaff's age is a 300-1 chance or worse. Even 300 games is a long long way off.

 

[OldMateMuff]

The secret to Tuck's longevity - lady liquor.

Honestly though the way he's moving at the moment I wouldn't be surprised if Goodes gives 400 a shake. If he can still out run Ollie Wines comfortably over 35 metres at 35 years of age then he's moving alright.

The week in the 2s did him the world of good it seems despite cries of "THE END" from all the "experts".

He'd need to go on till 38ish but it doesn't seem like a stretch. He's also gotta teach Buddy how to do the same

 

[Damon_3388]

Considering that you've got to play at least 18 full H&A seasons (assuming no finals) to even get near it, I doubt it's something we'll see again.

Note that each player to reach the 400 mark has played in a high number of finals matches (nearly a full season each) to get there:

Kevin Bartlett - 27 finals matches in 19 seasons (1965-1983)
Michael Tuck - 39 finals matches in 21 seasons (1971-1991)
Dustin Fletcher - 23 finals matches in 23 seasons (1993-present)
Brent Harvey - 20 finals matches in 20 seasons (1996-present)

Takes a player who is talented enough to get games early in a good side. The fact that you can't get drafted or play before the age of 18 now too (all of the above players made their AFL debut "a year early" compared to today's norm and rules, at age 17) plays a small factor, too, in terms of opportunity to play and readiness. Andrew Gaff may get there, but even if he's not a physical crash-bash type, I think the frequent travel from the West may catch up with him before anything else does.

 

[longsuffreosupp]

A few ifs, but Dustin Fletcher could've been pushing 500 with some injury luck and less suspensions.

 

[Kram]

Considering that you've got to play at least 18 full H&A seasons (assuming no finals) to even get near it, I doubt it's something we'll see again.

Note that each player to reach the 400 mark has played in a high number of finals matches (nearly a full season each) to get there:

Kevin Bartlett - 27 finals matches in 19 seasons (1965-1983)
Michael Tuck - 39 finals matches in 21 seasons (1971-1991)
Dustin Fletcher - 23 finals matches in 23 seasons (1993-present)
Brent Harvey - 20 finals matches in 20 seasons (1996-present)

Takes a player who is talented enough to get games early in a good side. The fact that you can't get drafted or play before the age of 18 now too (all of the above players made their AFL debut "a year early" compared to today's norm and rules, at age 17) plays a small factor, too, in terms of opportunity to play and readiness. Andrew Gaff may get there, but even if he's not a physical crash-bash type, I think the frequent travel from the West may catch up with him before anything else does.

Yes it's an extremely difficult feat and might not happen again for another 30+ years or something but someone will eventually do it again. After Tuck finished up countless people including myself said that nobody would ever crack 400 again and it's already happened twice.

 

[Damon_3388]

A few ifs, but Dustin Fletcher could've been pushing 500 with some injury luck and less suspensions.

Fletcher has actually missed a surprising amount of games over his time; Has played 400 of a possible 524 games (including finals) from 1993-present. Has played 20 games in a season just once in the past 14 years (2004), and has never had a season where he didn't miss at least two games.

 

[Thats Wright]

He's right the demands of the game now are taxing on the players.

And in 20 years players could be missing weeks for mild concussions with 16 per team and diets and social lives that would make you want to retire.

 

[telsor]

Comparative ages @ 291 games.

Think luck comes into it as well, if your club's travelling OK they're probably less likely to tap you on the shoulder and say we want to bring in younger players.

A lot of finals also helps. Over the course of a career, a regular showing in finals would 'save' you about a season.

 

[Gumby2Hurley]

I reckon Stanton will give it a good run. Super fit and his ability to play an uncontested game helps.