Aaron Campbell reflects on playing 150 NPL Tasmania games

"I feel very old," said Aaron Campbell, who wasn't one of them.

Instead, the dependable striker has become the first NPL Tasmania player to reach 150 matches - his 29th game for Riverside on Saturday adding to 121 for Launceston City.

"There's only one of two players around my age in each side, the rest are very young and it's interesting because 17-18-year-olds are a lot different from when I was that age, but I enjoy it.

"It did not really hit me until this season because this is definitely the youngest team I've ever played in and when I turned 30 I definitely did not pull up like I used to. There used to be a bit of soreness but now every part of the body hurts - my back, my legs, my stomach ..."

Campbell said the secret of longevity is adaptability.

"I'm taking more of a mentoring role now which is enjoyable, especially at Riverside because the side is a lot younger than when I was at City.

"It's nice for (coach) Alex (Gaetani) to have one or two out there that aren't 17 or 18 and have a bit of knowledge of other teams and individual players. I usually know a bit about who we're playing against."

Reflecting on his journey, the Launceston-born, former student at Riverside Primary and High Schools and Launceston College said he has loved playing alongside Tasmania's best as well as imports from Europe, Africa, North and South America.

Campbell, who turned 30 in July, played all his junior soccer at Riverside but the Windsor Park club's lack of a statewide side prompted his move to Launceston City for the beginning of what was then called the Victory League in 2013.

"When the State League started, Launceston teams were a long way behind," he said.

"About my fourth season at City we had a good run, made the semis of the Lakoseljac Cup and were actually on top of the league with one complete round of games remaining so that was exciting.

"We never got close again, but hopefully I can with Riverside."

Having won back-to-back best and fairest awards in 2017 and 2018 plus the club's 2016 golden boot, Campbell returned to Riverside when the club joined the statewide league in 2019.

The Launceston Aquatic Centre swim instructor knew his old team was jumping in the deep end.

"I just felt that was as close as City were going to get after we had a good crack at winning the league. I still had friends from juniors at Olympic, guys like Jono O'Neill who is still one of the guys around my age still here, although he's injured at the moment.

"I knew it would be a massive jump up for Riverside and would be hard for the first couple of seasons. I felt I've always been a Riverside person so I thought I could help them out for the first few years and I'm still going."

Remarkably, Campbell has missed just eight games since the start of the statewide league in 2013.

"Some seasons I may have missed the first couple of games or started on the bench because I was playing cricket for Riverside. You could play both then but with the demands of the State League now you can't.

"I've been very lucky during that time. Since I started playing State League I have not had any major injuries.

"I had a knee injury the season before last and missed three or four games and also did a ligament in my ankle but that was in the last game of the season so I did not miss any games.

"So I've been lucky with injuries and coaches seem to have liked me so I've managed to stay in sides, but I don't know how much longer that will last.

"I'd like to say I keep myself pretty fit. My job allows me to keep up training and I just love competing, I'm a very competitive person and love the game.

"My best memory is just being able to play with talented guys from all over the world and I've met some great people. It's just been enjoyable playing with mates at both clubs."

He added: "The day I feel I can't keep up or am not in the best 11, I'll give it up and then I'll probably go into coaching ... but everyone tells me I should play as long as I can."