Sport

Milestone men set to make AFL Rd 19 memorable

The AFL’s Round 19 is set to be a weekend of significant milestones with many of the league’s most-adored players hitting momentous career achievements this weekend.

The weekend of football will be dotted with important milestones but they don’t get much bigger than the milestone Brent ‘Boomer’ Harvey will achieve on Saturday night.

The North Melbourne speedster is set to break the AFL/VFL games record, surpassing Hawk Michael Tuck, when he plays his 427th match against St Kilda at Etihad Stadium. Boomer was already in illustrious company – only four players in the game’s history have played 400 games or more – but he is now in rarefied air as the league’s most prolific player.

It is a remarkable achievement and solidifies Boomer’s position in AFL history. A fresh-faced Harvey debuted in the last Round of the 2006 season and the 38-year old continues to have a huge impact for the Kangaroos in his 21st season of AFL football.

The 2016 AFL season has been a year of milestones for Boomer with the star kicking his 500th career goal in Round 11.

Saturday night’s match between North Melbourne and St Kilda will be full of emotion and adulation for Boomer, but that aside, it is set to be a crucial match for the finals aspirations of both the Kangaroos and the Saints. All eyes will be on Etihad Stadium for this one! Click here to buy tickets.

Elsewhere, two of Geelong’s favourite sons will celebrate respective milestones on Friday night when the Cats host the Western Bulldogs at Simonds Stadium.

Corey Enright is set to break Geelong’s games record, playing his 326th match in Round 19. The triple premiership player will overtake Cats legend Ian Nankervis to become the club’s record holder.

The milestone is solid reward for the enormous effort Enright has put in since making his AFL debut in Round 2, 2001. The classy defender will be remembered as one of the greatest half backs of all time and will always be a Geelong and AFL superstar.

Enright’s fellow triple premiership teammate, Jimmy Bartel, is set to reach his own important milestone on Friday night. The Norm Smith and Brownlow medallist will play 300 games, becoming only the fourth Geelong player to reach the milestone.

As luck would have it, Enright and Bartel will celebrate their respective milestones at the club’s home ground, Simonds Stadium. The local crowd will surely be out in force to congratulate the two Cats superstars as they aim to topple the Doggies on Friday night. To be there, click here for tickets.

Over in the west another significant milestone will be achieved when Fremantle’s Matthew Pavlich plays his 350th match. The former captain is just the 15th AFL/VFL player to reach the milestone, cementing his position as one of the game’s greats.

Pavlich made his debut in 2000 and has already announced 2016 will be his last year in the AFL. Freo fans will be cheering on their favourite son at Domain Stadium when the Dockers take on the Sydney Swans on Sunday. Click here to purchase tickets to Pavlich’s milestone match.

While the aforementioned milestones may overshadow these, there will also be two achievements to celebrate at the Gabba on Saturday night. Port Adelaide’s Paul Stewart will play 100 games and young Lion Marco Paparone will achieve 50 games if he can overcome a hamstring injury to play in Round 19. If you want to be there, click here to purchase tickets.

Round 19 is set to be the round of the milestone men! Don’t miss your chance to be there and celebrate the incredible achievement of some of the AFL’s most unforgettable champions.