300 Club - So few Pies

[duke750]

Seeing Harvey equal Michael Tuck's record on Friday night made me wonder why only 2 Pies have played 300 or more games for the club (Tony Shaw 313 and Gordon Coventry 306). Others have played 300 more for multiple clubs: David Cloke, Paul Williams and Len Thompson.

Swannie might have come close but for injury. Pendles will need another 3 years. Sidebottom is probably young enough. Travis Cloke would need a dramatic return to form.

[Bob Sugar]

It's because of Davorin.

[Ev5Magpies]

Pendles will end his career as our most games player. He will play a min another 5-6 years, so could end up 350+ if his body holds up.

Funny to note Geelong & the Swans have a lot of 300 game players over the years.

[jackcass]

Just the luck of the draw that you end up with players whose bodies stand up to the rigors. I think they were saying that there has only been something like 75 players get there so not actually that common. A few others like Bucks and Daics might have gotten closer if they hadn't had a number of seasons crueled by injury.

[1892_]

[melliot]

Out of interest, how many of those 300gamers won a flag after say 260 games?

[Pies4shaw]

Coventry kicked 4 goals in the 1935 premiership (his 274th game). He missed the 1936 flag but his 306th and last game was the 1937 GF loss.

Bartlett won a flag after he reached 300. In fact, he kicked 21 goals in three finals in 1980, playing in games numbered in the high 330s. He also played in a GF in his 384th game, kicking 3 goals in a losing team. Tuck played in 4 winning GF teams (and 5 GFs in total) after his 300th game.

[Pies4shaw]

Adam Goodes won a flag in game 319 and played in a GF loss in game 351.

Russell Greene won flags in his 268th and 304th (last) games.

[Pies4shaw]

Crawford won in 2008 in his 305th and Paul Williams in his 294th.

[Pies4shaw]

Lynch won flags in his 271st and 293rd games and lost a GF in his 306th.

[Pies4shaw]

Tim Watson won a flag in his 298th.

[Pies4shaw]

Burgoyne won flags in his 269 and 295th games.

[Pies4shaw]

Marcus Ashcroft won flags in his 268th, 293rd and 318th games.

I've run out of puff - but it's fair to say that it's a lot more common than I thought. My perception before I started looking was that the ranks of the 300+ were full of good players in poor teams.

[3rd degree]

[Pies4shaw]

Second wind!

Dick Reynolds' last 2 games were Grand Finals. He won in his 319th game. He also won a flag in his 299th.

Sam Mitchell won in his 261st and 285th.

Jude Bolton won the flag in his 301st.

Nicholls won the flag in his 292nd game.

Matthews won flags in games 287 and 311.

Justin Madden won in his 311th.

Doull won in his 282nd.

Wanganeen won in his 276th.

Francis Bourke won in his 289th.

John Blakey won in his 299th.

I think that's the complete list of 300+ game players who won a flag after their 260th game. That's 20 out of 76, on my count. Not a bad rate, given that you not only have to have been lucky enough to have played in a great team but you have to have been in a great team late in your career.

Given that more players are playing for longer, we'll likely see more of this in the future.

For the record, the players I don't believe were in the 300 games/flag after their 260th category are:

Harvey
Fletcher
The other Harvey
Simon Madden
Bradley
Quinlan
Brad Johnson
Roos
Hawkins
Pavlich
Grant
Andrew McLeod
John Rantall
David Cloke
Kevin Murray
Gary Dempsey
Barry Round
Akermanis
Enright
Nankervis
Salmon
West
Burke
Black
Edwards
Loewe
Whitten
Dal Santo
Revolting
Daniher
Merrett
Shaw
Dyer
Ricciuto
SOS
Archer
Hart
Petrie
Neitz
Schimmelbusch
Simpson
O'Loughlin
Power
Scott
Grant
Thommo
Thompson
Breen
Cornes
Foulds
Martyn
Kelvin Moore
Newman
Rohan Smith

Of the current players, you'd think that Enright, Bartel and Scott Thompson all play in teams that could get them there this year (with Harvey and Petrie a more outside chance).