The stage is perfectly set for Shaun Burgoyne's 400th game

You could not have scripted this any better.

Veteran Shaun Burgoyne will bring up his 400th AFL game when Hawthorn faces his old side, Port Adelaide, at Marvel Stadium on Saturday night.

In doing so he will become just the fifth player in VFL/AFL history to bring up 400 games, following in the footsteps of Brent Harvey (the AFL’s games record holder with 432), Michael Tuck (426), Kevin Bartlett (403) and Dustin Fletcher (400).

Burgoyne, whose brother Peter also played at Port Adelaide, began his playing career in 2002 and by just his third season, he’d become a premiership player, being part of the Power side that defeated the Brisbane Lions by 40 points to win the 2004 flag.

Seventeen years on, he is the only player remaining from that side still playing today, and is also one of the very few remaining from any of the premiership sides from the noughties (others still active include Geelong Cats captain Joel Selwood and Tom Hawkins).

He was also part of the Power’s 2007 grand final side, where they suffered a record 119-point defeat against the Geelong Cats. He did, however, kick the last goal of the match, saving his side from what was already an embarrassing defeat.

After his brother Peter retired in 2009, Shaun requested a trade to Hawthorn in 2010 only to have his club debut delayed by jaw and hamstring injuries while playing for Box Hill.

He finally played his first game for Hawthorn against Richmond in Round 8, in the match best known for Sam Mitchell’s last-gasp tackle on the late Shane Tuck, which also single-handedly saved the coaching career of Alastair Clarkson.

If it wasn’t for Mitchell’s heroics, Clarkson would’ve been sacked the next day and the Hawks would not have evolved into a powerhouse club that they were to become.

At Hawthorn, Burgoyne became part of the club’s 2013, 2014 and 2015 flags, joining the likes of Michael Tuck and Martin Pike in winning at least four premiership medals in their careers, and the first to do it this millennium.

Six years removed from the Hawks’ last premiership, he is one of only four players who played in those three flags still remaining at the club today, the others being Jack Gunston, Luke Breust and Liam Shiels.

(Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images)

Another three – Bradley Hill, Grant Birchall and Isaac Smith – are kicking on with different clubs, namely St Kilda, the Brisbane Lions and Geelong Cats respectively.

And just like the Brisbane Lions class of 2001-03 before them, the success the Hawks enjoyed throughout the past decade is continuing to wear off, as evidenced by the club currently occupying second-last place on the ladder, just ahead of North Melbourne.

Despite this, the Hawks were able to win their fourth match for the season last Sunday, coming from behind at quarter-time to upset the GWS Giants in what was the latter’s home game and severely denting their finals hopes.

The Hawks led by only three points at three-quarter-time, but then ran away with proceedings in the final quarter to register an 18-point victory and alleviate some pressure on veteran coach Alastair Clarkson, for now.

It was highlighted by a mark-of-the-year contender from Tim O’Brien, who has done the 23 guernsey some good service despite playing only 90 games since his AFL debut in 2014.

It marked just their second win in Victoria for the year, after beating Essendon at Marvel Stadium in Round 1. Their other wins were against the Adelaide Crows in Launceston in Round 6, and over the Sydney Swans at the SCG in Round 13.

Port Adelaide, on the other hand, dispelled doubts over their ability to beat the competition’s best, by holding off the Sydney Swans to win by ten points at the Adelaide Oval with Scott Lycett kicking the match-winning goal inside the final two minutes.

That followed a strong 50-point win over the Gold Coast Suns at Metricon Stadium, in which the Power restricted the Suns to a total of only 31 points.

(Photo by James Elsby/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

In contrast to the Hawks’ struggles, which leaves them likely to miss finals for the fourth time in five seasons, Port are tracking well, currently sitting in fourth place on the ladder as we reach the latter rounds of the regular season.

Though Ken Hinkley’s side should start favourites on Saturday night, they will be aware of a Hawthorn side that has not only played strongly since the bye, but will also want to toast club legend Shaun Burgoyne’s 400th game with a win at Marvel Stadium.

On a negative note, the match will also indirectly mark a decade since the Power suffered their worst ever defeat against the Hawks, losing by 165 points in what was current captain Tom Jonas’ debut match.

The sides did, though, contest a memorable preliminary final in 2014, which the Hawks won by just three points – en route to winning the second in a string of the aforementioned three consecutive flags.

Earlier that season, Port won by 14 points at the Adelaide Oval, completing their rise from a laughing stock to a serious contender under then-second-year coach Hinkley.

To the present to finish off, and both Hawthorn and Port Adelaide will have their own incentives to win on Saturday night – for the Hawks, it is to toast one of the game’s most celebrated players in his 400th match, and for the Power it is to keep their double-chance hopes alive.

So which team will rise to the occasion at Marvel Stadium?