The preliminary finals highlight the two separate paths that can be taken to achieve the holy grail.
This week’s games feature two established teams (Richmond and West Coast) and two ‘up-and-comers (Collingwood and Melbourne) based on the number of top 100 game players and top 100 goal scorers that each team boasts in their line up.
Richmond – for a team that has been around over 100 years – features an amazing nine top 100 game players on their list.
With the likely exception of Brandon Ellis, five of these players will move up the list.
Trent Cotchin will pass David Cloke (who also played over 100 games for Collingwood) and move into 22nd place on the all-time list at the Tigers.
Dustin Martin (another top 30 game player at the club) will pass Michael Roach.
Alex Rance will join them in the top 30 by equalling Basil McCormack, a two-time Best and Fairest who played in seven grand finals for the Tigers – two of which were premierships.
Bachar Houli should get an extra tap on the shoulder from official Neil Balme whose game total – along with Ray Martin’s – he will equal. Dylan Grimes will pass Tom Simpson.
West Coast Eagles have only a 31-year AFL history, so it is not surprising that they also have a plethora of players breaking records.
Amongst the game players, Elliott Yeo will pass Jason Ball and Daniel Chick.
Jeremy McGovern will equal Mark Seaby, Brett Jones and Tyson Stenglein – and Mark Hutchins will tie Mitch Brown. Dom Sheed should pass Brad Ebert.
Tom Barrass is playing his 50th game and will equal Michael Collica and Lewis Jetta can sneak into a tie for 100th on the list just in time to front up against his cousin Neville, who now holds a spot on the Demons top 100 game players list.
Melbourne’s sole representative in the elite group of top 100 game players at the start of the year gained two new members, Tom McDonald and Neville Jetta.
All three made great inroads during the season. Nathan Jones plays his 264th game on Saturday and draws level with Irishman Jim Stynes as the fourth greatest game player for the Demons.
(Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Media/Getty Images)
Tom McDonald will make a huge leap up the list from 66th to equal 61st when he ties Ivor Warne-Smith, Ian McLean, Graham Osborne, Andrew Leoncelli and Nathan Brown who all finished their careers with 146 games.
Neville Jetta will equal the games tallies of three other famous players for the club – Bert Chadwick, Greg Healy and Colin Garland.
Alas, Collingwood who have only three top 100 game players with the team (Jarryd Blair is also on the list but unlikely to get a game), can – at a personal level – only celebrate Tyson Goldsack moving ahead of Terry Waters.
Waters, who captained the Magpies for a short time in the 1970s, won the Best and Fairest in 1966 and was All Australian in 1969.
He played in three losing grand finals during his career.