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It’s hard to get excited about Melbourne’s top 100 game players as – since the departure of Jack Watts to Port Adelaide at the end of 2017 – the only current day player in the 100 elite is Nathan Jones.
Tonight will be Nathan’s 244th game for Melbourne and he sits in ninth position on the Demon’s all-time top 100 game players list. This means he is still six short of the 250 game milestone and seven short of equalling James McDonald in the eighth position on the all-time list.
Another McDonald – Tom – finished 2017 just one game away from top 100 status, but as yet has been unable to take the field and therefore climb over the “bar” for membership. One other player is a possibility to join Melbourne’s top 100 game players by the end of the year: Neville Jetta but – as Tom McDonald’s experience has shown – he needs an injury free season to ensure he plays the remaining seven games required to qualify.
Richmond, on the other hand, have eight current day players in the club’s all-time top 100 game players, and these eight could be joined by one more before season’s end (Dylan Grimes). Of these eight, the top three (Jack Riewoldt, Shane Edwards and Trent Cotchin) make no movement up the list, but the remaining five all gain some ground.
“Dusty” Martin – apart from having at least one newborn named after him this week – will pass Allan Geddes, a premiership player with the Tigers in 1932 and 1934. Alex Rance with equal Duncan Kellaway and Joe Murdoch on the list.
Joe Murdoch was a teammate of Geddes and also played in the 1932 and 1934 premierships. He was involved in an incident when he punched Collingwood legend on boils on his neck, which started an all-in brawl and resulted in both players being reported.
Shaun Grigg tonight will draw level with Greg Strachan and Nathan Foley while Bachar Houli will pass Geoff Spring and equal Bill Perkins. Geoff Spring played for the club between 1948 and 1957 and won the best and fairest in 1949. He represented Victoria four times.
“Polly” Perkins also played in a premiership side for Richmond (1943) and played once for Victoria. His career lasted from 1940 to 1949.
Brandon Ellis continues his impressive run of consecutive games and in this game will equal Brownlow Medallist Bill Morris, whose career was interrupted by the war. In 1945, his first full year after the war, he won Richmond’s best and fairest and followed up two more times in 1948 and 1950. In 1948 he also won the Brownlow Medal.
He played a total of 15 games for Victoria, leading the state as captain in 1950. He was also captain of Richmond in 1950 and 1951.
On Anzac Day, only two Top 100 game players at Collingwood will take the field. Scott Pendlebury’s position won’t alter, but Steele Sidebottom’s game will take him past Ted Rowell, Bill Twomey and Paul Williams.
Essendon are only slightly better off, where David Zaharakis will pass Jack Jones and join Alan Belcher, Carl Hooker will pass Garnet Campbell and join Dean Solomon and Dyson Heppell will pass Courtney Dempsey and equal Ken Timms and Adam Ramanauskas, who unfortunately had to retire after contracting cancer.
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