It’s a record that may never be broken; Brent Harvey set to play his 427th matches on Saturday night and surpass Michael Tuck’s long time mark for most games played in VFL/AFL history.
Tuck has held the mantle for almost 25 years, but of course, there were many champions who set the benchmark throughout the game’s history.
The awards and accolades achieved by the various games’ record holders below illustrate just how remarkable Harvey’s milestone really is:
First to 100 games – Charlie Pannam (Collingwood/Richmond). Round 14, 1902. Retired in 1908 after 193 games.
194 games – Fred Elliott (Melbourne/Carlton). Grand Final, 1910. Retired in 1911 after 209 games.
210 games – Jock McHale (Collingwood). Round Nine, 1914. Retired in 1920 after 261 games.
262 games – Vic Thorp (Richmond). Round 16, 1925. Retired in 1925 after 263 games.
264 games – Gordon Coventry (Collingwood). Round 11, 1935. Retired in 1937 after 306 games.
307 games – Jack Dyer (Richmond). Round Nine, 1949. Retired in 1949 after 312 games.
313 games – Dick Reynolds (Essendon). Round 14, 1950. Retired in 1951 after 320 games.
321 games – Ted Whitten (Footscray). Round Five, 1970. Retired in 1970 after 321 games.
322 games – John Nicholls (Carlton). Round 10, 1974. Retired in 1974 after 328 games.
329 games – Kevin Murray (Fitzroy). Round 18, 1974. Retired in 1974 after 333 games.
334 games – John Rantall (South Melbourne/North Melbourne/Fitzroy). Round Six, 1980. Retired in 1980 after 336 games.
337 games – Kevin Bartlett (Richmond). Qualifying Final, 1980. Retired in 1983 after 403 games.
404 games – Michael Tuck (Hawthorn). Round 22, 1990. Retired in 1991 after 426 games.
427 games – Brent Harvey (North Melbourne). Round 19, 2016.