It’s an outstanding achievement to play 100 AFL games. Especially when you consider that among 319 players over 33 years of the Brisbane Football Club only 24 have done so in a Brisbane jumper. Or 7.4%

It’s even more outstanding when you understand 99 of 319 Brisbane players, or 31.0%, have played less than 10 games. And that’s without counting draftees who never play at AFL level.

It’s a tough caper, and it’s a pretty special player who reaches 100 games.

It is similarly outstanding, perhaps even more so, for a player to change clubs and play 100 games. To be prepared to move in search of the football dream. To work through adversity and reach a goal that is beyond the overwhelming majority of players. Or more particularly 92.6% of Brisbane players.

That’s Jarryd Lyons, who on Saturday against the Western Bulldogs will play his 100^th AFL game.

It will be a major milestone in a journey which began when the now 26-year-old Melbourne-born midfielder, whose father Marty played 27 games with Melbourne in 1975-77, was drafted by Adelaide as a product of the Sandringham Dragons in the TAC Cup.

It’s been a journey of challenge. Three games in his first two years and 55 games in six years with the Crows before he was traded to Gold Coast. And that after 20 games in 2016.

Then, after averaging 24.6 possessions through 37 games with the Suns in 2017-18 and finishing 6^th and 11^th in the best & fairest award, he felt such that he asked to be de-listed so he could join the Lions as a free agent.

It’s hardly the smooth-sailing career he might have hoped for when he was drafted with selection #61 in a 2010 National Draft, and to reach 100 career games is as much a tribute to his persistence as anything.

It should not have escaped his attention, either, that although he was the third of three Dragons players drafted in 10, he will be the first and possibly the only one to 100.

Ben Jacobs, drafted at #16 to Port Adelaide and now at North Melbourne, has played 90 games. And Daniel Farmer, drafted at #46 by Collingwood, never played.

Walking into a new side, Lyons has been a valuable addition to the Lions and after seven games he ranks 8^th in disposals (average 20.4), 5^th in contested possessions (8.4), 4^th in clearances (7.0) and equal 2^nd in tackles (4.6).

The Lyons journey, which saw him join younger brother Corey at the Gabba after Corey was drafted at #71 by the Lions in 2016, points to a fascinating analysis of his draft year.

It is an analysis which further underlines the level of the prolific midfielder’s achievement to finally raise the bat at 100.

Among 76-first-time draftees from the 2010 National Draft, Hawthorn 188-gamer Isaac Smith has played most AFL football, ahead of North Melbourne’s Shaun Atley (183), West Coast’s Andrew Gaff (180), Sydney’s Luke Parker (180), West Coast’s Jack Darling (179), Hawthorn’s Paul Puopolo (175) and Collingwood’s Jeremy Howe (169).

Essendon captain Dyson Heppell (158) would be in a similar bracket but for the club’s supplements scandal, and Melbourne’s Tom McDonald (153) and Adelaide’s Brodie Smith (152) have also topped 150 games.

Among the 10 150-gamers only Howe, who was originally drafted by Melbourne, has moved clubs.

A total of 24 first-time draftees from the 2010 National Draft have played 100 games, leaving Lyon and former Suns teammate Aaron Young, also due to play his 100^th this weekend, equal 25^th on the list.

But McDonald, taken with pick #66, is the only player drafted after Lyons to have beaten him to 100 games.

Seventeen of the 24 100-gamers, including Brisbane’s Ryan Lester, who has played 119 games after being drafted at #28, were picked inside the top 30.

Centurions drafted after #30 have been Brisbane’s pick #32 Josh Green, Howe, Luke Parker, Tom Liberatore, Alex Fasolo, McDonald and Puopolo.

No less than 36 of 60 players drafted ahead of Lyons are out of the AFL system, and 42 among the 76 draftees are finished.

Furthermore, eight first-time draftees did not play an AFL game, and of 68 who did play only 15 are still with their original club.

He is among 27 who have had more than one club, and one of four to have played for three clubs. The others are Jared Polec, Brisbane’s #5, Josh Caddy and the now de-listed Jed Lamb.

Among 319 Brisbane/Bears Lions players, Lyons is one of 44 to have played with three clubs, including four who wore four different jumpers.

Matthew Clarke, coach of 2019 AFLW premiers Adelaide, is the only one of this group of 44 to have played 100 games for two clubs. Originally drafted by Richmond and de-listed without a game, he played 130 games with Brisbane and  118 for Adelaide before finishing with 10 at St.Kilda.

For the sake of this exercise, the Fitzroy players who headed to Brisbane following the merger are considered to have changed clubs because they moved to continue playing, even though Fitzroy and Brisbane are now regarded as one. They are signified (*) below.

The four four-club players on the all-time Brisbane playing list, with their club progression, games at each club, and total career games, are:-

Adrian Fletcher – Geel (23), StK (22), Bris (107), Frem (79) – 231
Ben Hudson – Adel (55), WB (88), Bris (18), Coll (7) - 168
Martin Pike – Melb (24), Fitz (36), NM (81), Bris (106) - 247
Geoff Raines – Rich (134), Coll (47), Ess (14), Bris (59) - 254

Lyons is one of 21 three or four-club players for whom Brisbane was their third club. In addition to Hudson and Fletcher, they are:-

Mark Buckley – Carl (27), StK (7), Bris (4)- 38
Kevin Caton – WC (1, Fitz (9), Bris (8) - 18
Daryl Cox – Fitz (16), Melb (13), Bris (1) - 30
Jim Edmond – WB (154), Syd (17), Bris (17) - 188
Adam Heuskes – Syd (49), Port (37), Bris (39) - 125
Robert Mace – Haw (7), StK (70), Bris (1) - 78
Martin McKinnon – Adel (25), Geel (54), Bris (7) - 86
Brent Moloney – Geel (23), Melb (122), Bris (21) - 166
Michael Murphy – NM (3), Adel (16), Bris (10) - 29
Rod Owen – StK (60), Melb (9), Bris (9) - 78
Mike Richardson – Coll (60), Ess (17), Bris (81) - 158
Matthew Ryan – Coll (45), Syd (10), Bris (18) - 73
Phil Walsh – Coll (22), Rich (40), Bris (60) - 122

Seventeen members of this group, including five players from the merger, made Brisbane their second club. They were:-

Scott Bamford* - Fitz (22), Bris (24), Geel (13) - 59
John Barker* - Fitz (47), Bris (8), Hawthorn (113) - 168
David Calthorpe – Ess (92), Bris (9), NM (13) – 114
Blake Caracella – Ess (126), Bris (34), Coll (27) - 187
Nick Carter* - Fitz (17), Bris (5), Melb (3) - 25
Shane Clayton* - Fitz (13), Bris (5), NM (99) - 117
Shannon Corcoran – WB (23), Bris (5), Syd (2)- 30
Jamie Duursma – Syd (25), Bris (1), Melb (33) - 59
Fabian Francis – Melb (1), Bris (22), Port (86) - 109
Brad Hardie – WB (47), Bris (101), Coll (2) - 150
Bernie Harris – Fitz (46), Bris (56), StK (5) - 107
Alex Ishchenko – WC (30), Bris (42), NM (70) - 142
Mal Michael – Coll (61), Bris (140), Ess (37) – 238
Jarrod Molloy* - Fitz (59), Bris (61), Coll (49) - 169
Andrew Raines – Rich (56), Bris (67), GC (6) - 129
Mark Roberts – Syd (18), Bris (59), NM (125) - 202
Mark Zanotti – WC (36), Bris (64), Fitz (57) - 157

Nine members of this group started their AFL career with Brisbane. They were:-

Mitch Clark – Bris (82), Melb (15), Geel (9) - 106
Matthew Clarke – Bris (130), Adel 118), StK (10) - 258
Lachie Henderson – Bris (15), Carl (102), Geel (49) - 166
John Hutton – Bris (18), Syd (5), Frem (13) - 36
Trent Knobel – Bris (13), StK (41), Rich (21) - 75
Jared Polec – Bris (16), Port (90), NM (7) - 113
Brendon Retzlaff – Bris (15), WC (3), Frem (6) - 24
Brad Rowe – Bris (14), Coll (51), Frem (8) - 73
Cameron Wood – Bris (15), Coll (48), Carl (24) – 87