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As it stands at the moment, ten players should reach game milestones in Round 1 in 2019.
Nine of these players will have achieved it playing at one club unless trade week brings up more surprises than expected.
Both Marc Murphy (Carlton) and Jack Riewoldt (Richmond) finished 2018 on 249 games and are due to join the select group of 240 players who achieved the 250 game milestone.
At Carlton, this was 12 players, and at Richmond, 13. The next new player to play for Carlton will be the club’s 1200th player and will represent a one in 100 performance.
Like Riewoldt, Alex Rance would have anticipated playing his milestone game for Richmond in this year’s Grand Final, but it was not to be.
He will join Robbie Gray (Port Adelaide) in playing 200 games in Round 1.
Rance – who turns 29 this week – will achieve the target in his 11th season of AFL football whereas Gray will be just turning 31 and starting his 13th season.
Josh Kennedy will also play his 200th game for his club (West Coast Eagles) but has another 22 games that he played at Carlton before being transferred as part of the deal to get Chris Judd across to the Blues.
Ben Brown (North Melbourne), Sam Rowe (Carlton) and Max Gawn (Melbourne) will all play their 100th game for their respective clubs while Jarman Impey will chalk up 100 AFL games.
(Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
While I am hesitant to put a measure of expectation on the AFL top 100 game players playing on in 2019, the ten players in the AFL top 100 from this year (minus Brendon Goddard) with reasonable form and freedom from injury could all move significantly up the list during the season.
Shaun Burgoyne (Port Adelaide and Hawthorn) as high as number six, Luke Hodge (Hawthorn and Brisbane), Gary Ablett (Geelong and Gold Coast) and Jarrad McVeigh (Sydney) could all be top 20, Jordan Lewis (Melbourne and Hawthorn) and Kade Simpson (top 30), Eddie Betts (Carlton and Adelaide) and David Mundy (Fremantle) could be top 50 and Lance ‘Buddy’ Franklin could finish the year in the top 60 game players of all time.
In addition, Heath Shaw (Collingwood and Greater Western Sydney), Scott Pendlebury (Collingwood) and Jarryd Roughead (Hawthorn) are only one good season away from joining this elite group.
Joel Selwood (Geelong) seems likely to just miss out. We could also see a new number six amongst all-time AFL goal scorers too.
Lance Franklin has averaged just over 70 goals per season for the last three years and a repeat performance could see him pass Matthew Lloyd (Essendon) and Jack Titus (Richmond).
Jack Riewoldt (Richmond) could move to top 25 by again averaging 57 goals, and Jarryd Roughead (Hawthorn), Eddie Betts (Carlton and Adelaide) and Josh Kennedy (Carlton and West Coast Eagles) – who are currently on 563, 563 and 562 goals respectively – should continue their battle for supremacy on the goalkicking list.
Tom Hawkins (Geelong) should be the 60th player in the AFL to kick 500 goals and should be aiming for top 50 status on the AFL list.
Mark LeCras (West Coast Eagles) and Gary Ablett (Geelong and Gold Coast) should be joined on the bottom tier of the list by Taylor Walker (Adelaide) and possibly Luke Breust (Hawthorn).
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