Hawthorn small forward Luke Breust is set to break the record for most AFL games played by a rookie in Round 19 when the club faces Collingwood at the MCG on Saturday.
Breust has played 292 games in the brown and gold and matched Western Bulldogs legend Matthew Boyd last week against Fremantle, whilst setting his sights on becoming the outright leader of the unique record.
The 33-year-old was taken with Pick 47 in the 2009 Rookie Draft, a mechanism to give overlooked youngsters a chance to live out their lifelong dream.
Despite signing on a one-year deal, Breust took the opportunity with both hands and has never looked back since, quickly becoming a pivotal cog in the Hawthorn premiership dynasty (2013-15) as well as turning into one of the league's best small forwards.
The Temora product was hidden well within the shadows of star players like Lance Franklin, Jarryd Roughead, Cyril Rioli, Sam Mitchell and Luke Hodge, flying under the radar of opposition and appreciation from the outside world.
However, as time would tell, Breust has emerged as an elite small forward in the history of the game, registering 537 goals (and counting) with three separate 50-goal seasons.
As a result, the right-footer has been rewarded with two (2014, 2018) All-Australian blazers.
Now, Breust - who is playing under former teammate Sam Mitchell - is acting as the bridge from the previous successful era to the new one, along with fellow forward Jack Gunston.
The Hawk is not the only current player to be reaching odd-defying heights after initially being overlooked at the respective National Drafts.
Geelong duo Zach Tuohy (283 games) and Mark Blicavs (262) had unique pathways to the elite level and rank within the top 10 of most games played by a rookie.
For Breust to reach the 300-game milestone in 2024, the Hawk will need to play in the remaining six home-and-away matches, plus two finals contests.
Here's the top 10...
Most AFL games played by a Rookie
- Luke Breust (Hawthorn) - 292* games
- Matthew Boyd (Western Bulldogs) - 292 games
- Dean Cox (West Coast) - 290 games
- Zach Tuohy (Carlton/Geelong) - 283* games
- Stephen Milne (St Kilda) - 275 games
- Michael Firrito (North Melbourne) - 275 games
- Aaron Sandilands (Fremantle) - 271 games
- James McDonald (Melbourne/GWS) - 264 games
- Mark Blicavs (Geelong) - 262* games
- Jarrod Harbrow (Western Bulldogs/Gold Coast) - 262 games
