Ben Fixter will play his 50th AFL match on Saturday night when the Lions take on the Kangaroos at Carrara and while such milestones generally pass with little fanfare, for Fixter it is a major achievement.

It has taken the 25 year old eight seasons to reach 50 games in a career that has been largely interrupted by injuries.

As a basis for comparison, Fixter made his AFL debut in the same year as Lions team mate Jonathan Brown, yet has played less than half the games in the same period of time. Brown, himself, has missed his fair share of matches through injury and suspension during his 120-game career.

Fellow Lion Justin Sherman, who turned 20 earlier this year, is set to reach his 50-game milestone in the coming months in what is only his third season of AFL football.

Fixter, who was initially drafted by Sydney back in 1999, managed only 27 games with the Swans in six seasons because of recurring hamstring and shin complaints. He was subsequently delisted at the end of 2005 and forced to pursue his football career with another AFL club.

The Lions believed that Fixter has shown enough promise in his time at Sydney that they took a chance on the midfield/utility and selected him in the 2005 AFL Pr-Season Draft.

Fixter has since more than repaid the club’s faith by playing 22 of a possible 25 matches since 2006.

"It was my last chance so I took it with both hands," Fixter said about joining the Lions.

"I had that chronic hamstring trouble in Sydney and then I came to Brisbane ... and with different training techniques and a bit of luck, I have remained relatively injury-free.”

Renowned for his hardness and toughness at both the ball and the man, Fixter was recognised as the club’s ‘Most Effective Tackler’ at the 2006 Club Champion dinner. It was a fitting reward for a player who prides himself on one percenters and an award that the coaches rate highly.

Fixter has further established himself as an important cog in the new-look Lions midfield in 2007 and has been one of the club’s best performers in the first three rounds.

In the first match of the 2007 season, Fixter not only kept dangerous Hawk midfielder Sam Mitchell to just 17 possessions but also gathered an equal career-best 20 disposals.

Fixter has also laid a club-high 17 tackles.