In fact, the 24-year-old is just one of two players to wear 23 in the club’s history.
The first was Shane Parker, one of the most respected players to have represented Fremantle.
Between 1995 up until his retirement in 2007, the stalwart defender appeared in 237 games – a club record that was only surpassed by Matthew Pavlich in 2011.
Club history was not something Mayne overlooked when he spoke to the media on Tuesday afternoon ahead of his milestone game.
“The first day I walked in here I said ‘I love coming here’, it’s like a second home for me, and to be able to get the honour I’m going to get this weekend, to be only the second player to wear the number 23 after Shane Parker, it’s a terrific feeling,” he said.
The forward has become an integral member of a Ross Lyon Fremantle team built on trust.
Before Lyon arrived, Mayne was a serviceable forward with accuracy issues.
Issues he felt had let his teammates down and compromised their trust in him.
“I felt in 2011 that I wasn’t trusted with the ball in hand, and being a part of the forward group, you want to have that trust from your midfield, in that when they’ve done all that hard work, you can just finish it off for them,” he said.
Today, Mayne is among the best set-shots in the game, lethal when he marks the footy anywhere within kicking range.
And, in his senior coach’s own words,he is second to none in work rate.
His teammates unequivocally trust him, whether it’s to kick the goal or give 100 per cent effort to every chase and tackle.
Mayne believes trust is the foundation upon which any great team is built.
“You’ve got 22 players out there that are trying to get the job done and you want to be able to put trust in each other,” he said.
“Knowing that, when that moment comes up, that anyone’s going to put their head over the ball, anyone’s going to go back with the flight of the ball, if you know that your brother’s going to do that, then you know that you can have trust in them.”
Mayne is in the leadership group at the club, but the fear of letting his teammates down never goes away.
“If there’s a moment in the game where you feel you could have gone harder or stronger and you cost your teammates a part in the game, then that really haunts me,” he said.
Mayne was asked during his media conference whether he’d prefer to kick five goals or lay 10 tackles in a game.
It was a simple question to answer.
“Ten tackles, easily,” he said.
“That’s going to put the pressure on in our forward line, which other forwards will get the goals from that work.”
One of the most unselfish players in the game will be given a special individual moment on Sunday, when he leads his teammates through the banner to take on the Giants in his 100th.
Mayne, who debuted in 2008, said he would have been happy to play one game of AFL football, let alone reach triple figures.
“The first time I was picked to play senior football for the Perth Football Club from (then Demons’ coach) Simon Eastaugh, I was stoked to play league footy,” he said.
“To get the opportunity and be standing where I am now, I couldn’t be happier and I couldn’t thank the Fremantle Football Club enough for the opportunity they’ve given me,” he said.
“I’ve been privileged to be a part of this football club.”
You can trust him on that.
