Ahead of his 300th game in Bridgenorth colours, Jarrad Cirkel was more than happy to downplay his ability.
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"I pride myself on trying to play at the highest possible level I can and for me, NTFA senior footy was definitely as high as I was ever going to get," he said.
"Some people mount a pretty good case that I was probably playing higher than I should but I worked hard for every one of my senior games and I'm proud to say I played 150 of them."
A member of four Bridgenorth reserves premierships, captaining and coaching along the way, the 37-year-old admitted Saturday's game might be his last after four knee surgeries and two ruptured ACLs.
But the lure of potentially lacing up the boots and joining the likes of fellow 300-gamers Chris Walker, Robert Beams and Joel Clements on Parrot Park against Hillwood excited him.
"The old cliché is 'it's just another number' but I look at some of the other 300-game players at the footy club and they are all blokes I've looked up to, legends of the club, so it's pretty humbling to join them," Cirkel said.
"I basically just love it, I've been there 20 years now and it's pretty much all I know.
"All of my mates are there and I'd keep playing forever if I could but unfortunately the body is telling me that it's pretty much time to pull up stumps but I'll see if I can sneak out at least one more."
Playing 162 senior games, 118 reserves and 19 under-19s before his big day, Cirkel joined the Parrots in 2003, playing 31 matches in a 19-game roster.
He took out the under-19s' best and fairest and has the rare accolade of playing three games in one day when he made his senior debut against George Town.
"[It] had nothing to do with my football ability, it was more that the club was really, really struggling at the time when I first started," he said.
"They were hard up for numbers so I was constantly playing unders and doubling up and playing reserves and I dare say someone must have pulled out and so I came up for a third game."
Cirkel thanked the football club for keeping him coming back as well as his family for putting up with his injuries, especially over the past seven years having strained his PCL and torn his MCL in game 292 in 2019.
That knee injury happened just a week after Cirkel was thrust into national spotlight thanks to Prime Minister Scott Morrison's election campaign.
Josh Partridge
As a sports-mad fan who loves to remain challenged, sports journalism always seemed the path for me and it's allowed me to do things I never thought possible. A keen racquet sports player, I'm experienced in that field, allowing me to do my job at a strong standard.
As a sports-mad fan who loves to remain challenged, sports journalism always seemed the path for me and it's allowed me to do things I never thought possible. A keen racquet sports player, I'm experienced in that field, allowing me to do my job at a strong standard.
