There’s been times when I’ve felt that my 100th game, if I got there, would just be another game. Move on to the next.

But footy is a sport that’s so dominated by premierships and team achievements. So as an individual, if you don’t take a moment to appreciate your own accomplishments, you might look back and regret it later.

It’s been a grind to get here and there’s been times that I’ve had doubts if I would even make it to 100, doubts that happened as recently as March this year.

I had already missed a year of footy in my time at Essendon, so when Covid-19 threatened to wipe out the entire AFL season, there was a feeling of ‘here we go again’.

In a way, missing the whole 2016 season prepared me for the craziness of 2020.

It was one of those things where you almost had to laugh, sit back and go ‘of course this is happening’.

There was obviously the bigger picture to keep in perspective as well, but in terms of football, I felt so much more prepared for the unknown after already going through a period that was just also unprecedented, a period where no-one knew what was happening.

It was a completely different issue but there were a lot of similarities to it, and I think I just accepted the reality of the shutdown really early, with a feeling of ‘this isn’t good but we can’t do anything about it’.

Coming up to the hub, I feel I’ve been able to settle in a little bit quicker and come to terms with the situation we’re in.

I was injured half-way through 2015, so when I returned in 2017, it was around 21 months between games.

So on the weekend, having not played for almost three months, I felt more comfortable knowing footy wouldn’t feel so foreign.

In those 21 months, I learnt one very simple lesson about football, and that was just how much I love it.

From the 2013 to 2015 period at Essendon, with everything going on around you - and at the time I felt like I was fighting for my career - it became about something more than the reason why we play.

What I enjoy about footy the most, is the five to 10 minute period after a win.

In that moment, you’re with 21 other guys, your best mates, and they’re all feeling the same as you.

It’s that sense that you achieved what you set out that week, that pre-season, what we set out two years ago.

That’s the best feeling and I don’t think anything in life is going to replace it, and that’s what playing AFL means to me.

When I was in Victoria, my housemate, who’s also my best mate, and my fiancée Eloise would drive me home.

And after every win, I would get in the car and they would always sit and wait for me to say it, and I’d say it every time - ‘how good’s winning?’

They would just take the piss out of me every time I’d say it.

For anyone’s career, the first game is always a stand out.

For me it was playing Carlton at the MCG. It was only the second time I’d been on the ground.

Myself and Jake Melksham debuted that game, we were drafted together and remain good mates to this day. Kane Lucas, who I went to school with at Trinity, also debuted for Carlton.

There was a moment after a goal where we were all standing on the wing and wondering ‘how did we get here’.

Last year, the win we had against GWS, to be in the rooms after that game, it was just awesome.

We were facing a good team, we were in Canberra where they never lose - it’s the games where you’re the underdogs and fight through and have a crack.

Last year was my first season at Freo and it was really enjoyable, but I think towards the end of the year I was putting too much on wanting to get to 100 games. I also think I underestimated what the move would be like coming home to Perth.

But honestly, it’s so great here.

The playing group we have is phenomenal.

The coaching group and the footy department are just so welcoming and they have this determination to get the best out of people and to get results.

The supporters are just so passionate. You get that contrast, there’s the fans who are Freo people and those who were West Coast that flipped over.

There’s layers to it and it’s a little bit more like atmosphere of the old VFL, you get that feeling in Perth.

It’s just nice to be home. It’s nice to be around family and friends, play footy in my home state and feel like you’re giving back to WA footy.

My partner Eloise is a WA girl and she moved over to Melbourne right in the middle of the ‘Essendon saga’.

She has probably ridden the rollercoaster more than most partners, with a combination of everything that happened, injuries, living interstate, not knowing what would happen with contracts, or if I’m playing each week - it’s been a ride and she’s just been there.

It’s a simple statement but in the most basic way, she’s just been such a consistent person and has a level of empathy that I can’t even begin to comprehend. It stems from her desire just to see me do well.

It’s been nice to see her and her family throw themselves into footy to the point where she now she watches AFL 360!

Her dad is originally a West Coast member, then we got him on board at Essendon and now he’s a Freo member.

My Mum, Dad and my brother are probably my biggest supporters.

The passion that my brother has for footy and seeing me do well is really nice and comforting.

Mum and Dad sit back a little bit more, Mum can’t watch games live, she’ll record it and watch it later if we win or if I do well.

A bit like Eloise, they’ve just been a constant. Dad started to put little golfing analogies into his assessment of my performance, which of course I read too much into!

He just loves being involved with footy. I know going to games is the highlight of his weekend and knowing that means a lot to me.

I was speaking to Nat Fyfe and David Mundy recently about the biggest crowds that we’ve played in front of.

This Sunday for my 100th, only around 300 fans will be there, and while that’s so tiny, I can’t wait to get out in front of them.

Footy is so much better with fans.

Initially, I didn’t think it would matter much, not having fans at the game.

I thought, how can it have that much of an impact?

But it’s huge.

That sense of an atmosphere at a home game. I really hope that we can get back at the end of the year and be playing in front of a packed stadium, or even just a large percentage of the Purple Army.

To date, it’s been a really interesting career, and that’s not trying to say it’s better or whatever, it’s just been different to what I would have envisioned.

It’s awesome to get to play 100 games but the total next to my name isn’t going to be the defining factor when I look back to my career.

I feel I’ve grown so much in that time and I’m thankful for how the AFL system has enabled me to grow.

At Essendon, I saw a young group develop and, in a way, it feels like that got taken away from us.

At Freo right now, I feel like I’m in that situation again. I’m seeing this group really grow and to be a part of this, that is what excites me about the games to come.