After 350 games, durable defender Dustin Fletcher will be allowed to call time on his own career, according to Essendon AFL coach James Hird.
And Fletcher, who will be 37 next month, has not ruled out drawing the curtains at the end of this season.
He certainly won’t be aiming for the record of 426 held by Hawthorn’s Michael Tuck.
“I can nearly say 400 is out of the question,” Fletcher said on Thursday.
The ever-present backman will play his 350th against Gold Coast on Saturday, focused as always on the game and not the milestone.
Fletcher readily admits he has never been comfortable in the media spotlight and has played in a business-like way below the radar since joining the Bombers in 1993.
But he has taken on the best forwards in the game – Tony Lockett, Jason Dunstall, Gary Ablett, Tony Modra … and beaten them.
Fletcher was described by Hird as “incredible”.
“His ability to beat the best players early in his career, in the middle of his career and late in his career has been spectacular,” Hird said.
Fletcher’s ability to manage his own fitness has been the key to his longevity.
“I think just having the ability to enjoy football … I’ve never been the hardest trainer but I think I do enough training and I know my own body and what I need to do to get the job done,” he said.
“Still having the pace to get to contests has helped me, so they are the main things.”
Hird described Fletcher as “the ultimate professional because he understands his body”.
“Some players go to hard – they go too far, but Fletcher’s best aptitude is that he knows when he can play and when he can’t play and when he can and can’t train – and that’s a great trait to have.”
Hird said Fletcher had always been a key part of his team since he took over the coaching job.
“It will be a very sad day the day he doesn’t play for Essendon. Whether he plays next year, or two years, as long as his body’s right and he wants to keep playing, I think he’s got a long time left in the game,” Hird said.
He said the decision to quit would be “totally” up to Fletcher.
“There’s not many people who earn the right to make the decision but he’s earned that right,” he said.
While the speed of the game and the pressure on players’ bodies have increased, Fletcher still believes marks like his will be achievable.
“There’s no doubt the game’s tough and it’s probably getting tougher in some respects.
“Then again, the way footy’s played now, if you can do your little bit in the team, I don’t think there’s as much pressure on guys these days to take a game by (the) scruff of the neck by themselves, to win the game,” he said.