If Sam Day’s most recent outing at AFL level is any sort of pointer the latest Lions signing could be a real surprise packet.

The 32-year-old key forward/back-up ruckman, signed today as a pre-season draft pick to bolster the tall forward ranks, played his 155^th and last game for the Gold Coast Suns against North Melbourne at Marvel Stadium in Round 17 this year.

And although they copped a two-point loss to the eventual wooden-spooners which effectively torpedoed their finals hopes Day had a career-best six contested marks and a career-best five marks inside forward 50 – despite playing only 54% game time.

A season-ending ankle injury put him out of the game just after halftime, but still he received a perfect ‘five’ in the Suns club championship vote-count.

It turned out to be a mixed end to a 14-year stay at the Suns for the now 32-year-old originally drafted from SANFL club Sturt with pick #3 in the 2010 National Draft after they’d taken David Swallow at #1 and Harley Bennell at #2.

The second-longest ‘survivor’ from the inaugural playing list of the League’s 17^th club, he ranks 5^th on their all-time games list at 155, is 6^th for goals at 117 and equal fifth for wins at 46.

He told the club he wanted to play a 15^th season, but they didn’t offer him a contract.

It was the end of an extraordinary ride for a young man from Adelaide who chose football over baseball and basketball after outstanding junior careers in all three sports, rejecting the prospect of US college stints in either sport to throw his hat into the AFL ring.

He’d justified his decision when he won All-Australian selection following the 2010 Under 18 Championships, and famously said on draft night: “Bright-eyed, bushy teenage kid. Haircut’s not doing much. Great night to have mum and dad around. Fresh new club, exciting times ahead … a kid’s dream come true.”

It was the draft in which the Lions took Jared Polec at #6, Patrick Karnezis at #25, Ryan Lester at #28 and Josh Green at #32

From a record 158 first-time draftees, only 16 are still playing – Day, Lester, Swallow, ex-Suns Tom Lynch, Dion Prestia and Steven May, plus Brodie Smith, Cam Guthrie, Jamie Cripps, Jack Darling, Jeremy Howe, Luke Parker, Tom Liberatore, Tom McDonald, Jason Johannnisen and Jeremy McGovern.

Ironically, Day made his AFL debut for Gold Coast against Brisbane in the first Q-Clash at the Gabba in Round 7 2011. He shared his first game with the Suns’ Tom Lynch and Queenslander Joey Daye, and Lions debutant Bryce Retzlaff.

It was a moment Day has never forgotten – the Suns won by eight points after scores were level going into time-on in the fourth term - but there will be no gloating among his new teammates because not one member of the Brisbane side that day is still playing.

It was the first of Day’s 14 games against the Lions. He had a 5-9 record against his new club, is 3-10 at the Gabba, and kicked an equal career-best four goals against the Lions at Carrara in 2014.

He was never a big possession-winner but always a valuable role-player, big and strong enough to bring the ball to ground up forward and a capable second ruck, with a career-best 22 hit-outs against West Coast premiership duo Nic Naitanui and Scott Lycett in 2014.

And if they kept statistics for sheer bad luck Day would be a clear leader. By a long way. In numeric terms, in the time Day played 155 games the Suns played 312.

It wasn’t bad early. In his first six years he played 98 of a possible 132. His year-by-year game count was 7-15-20-22-14-20 despite a seven-week elbow injury in 2015, and more than might have been expected for a young key forward at an expansion club.

At the time he was sixth on the Suns games list behind Jarrod Harbrow (114), Lynch (102), ex-Lion Michael Rischitelli (100), Matt Shaw (100) and Trent McKenzie (99), and ahead of Gary Ablett (96), Prestia (95), Brandon Matera (91) and May (88). And with  65 goals he was fourth behind only Lynch (190), Ablett (116) and Matera (102).

But it all went horribly wrong on 19 February 2017 in a pre-season game against Brisbane at Broadbeach, when he hyper-extended his leg and badly dislocated his hip.

It was an injury identical to that which ended the career of Hawthorn great Dermott Brereton, and an excruciating blow for a young man on the rise.

The shattered 24-year-old didn’t walk for 50 days until 10 April. It was 153 days until he ran again on 22 July. And 398 days and a change of coach before he played his 99^th AFL game on 24 March 2018 in Stuart Dew’s first game at the helm.

He played 57 of a possible 177 games from 2017-24, not helped by a nine-week shoulder injury in 2018 with a 10-week knee injury in 2021.

From day one it was a test of character and resilience, especially for an 18-year-old dragged away from family and friends in Adelaide and plonked at a new club on the Gold Coast.

But he had plenty of highlights. His 50^th game against StKilda at Marvel in Round 9 2014 was a 38-point win, and in his 100^th game – his second on the comeback trail – he enjoyed a 34-point win over Carlton at Marvel Stadium as he became the ninth Suns player to triple figures.

He became the 5^th Sun to 150 games in Round 22 2023 behind Jarrod Harbrow, David Swallow, Alex Sexton and Touk Miller.

Despite playing his first season in jumper #39 Day is the only player to wear #12 at AFL level for the Suns. He and Swallow have shared the Suns journey with all 149 players who have represented the club, and others who have been listed without playing at senior level.

Other individual highlights? He kicked four goals in a game two other times – in the 2016 home win over Collingwood by five points, when he kicked the Suns last goal and polled two Brownlow votes, and in a 2016 home win over Fremantle by 24 points, when he polled one vote.

He also polled two votes in the 44-point home win over West Coast during the 2020 Covid season, when he played every game to replicate his full season of 2014.

Life member #13 at the Suns, he spread his 155 games over 18 different venues – Carrara, the Gabba, Cairns, Townsville, SCG, Sydney Showgrounds, MCG, Marvel Stadium, Geelong, Ballarat, Hobart, Launceston, Darwin, Canberra, Adelaide Oval and Football Park, Subiaco and Perth Stadium.

Day will be closer to 32 than 31 by the start of the 2025 season in March, and in line to be the seventh player to debut in Brisbane colors beyond 30 after Luke Hodge, Matt Rendell and Ben Hudson (33), Grant Birchall (32), Jack Gunston (31) and Geoff Raines (30).