Sam Reid's milestone is no trivial matter
Sam Reid has been keen to remind his teammates this week he is about to enter AFL history. In the 122 seasons of this competition, only two players have taken longer to play 50 games than the nine years and 247 days Reid has to reach the milestone.
"I've seen that stat; I've been claiming that," Reid said with a smile on Wednesday. "When you start out you want to try to get yourself into the record books or a trivia question. I think I've nailed that one, I'll take that."
To put Reid's career in perspective, captain Callan Ward, who was also taken in the 2007 draft by the Western Bulldogs, is due to play his 200th game next week.
That Reid, a diabetic whose career has been blighted by injury, has made it to the half ton is a triumph in itself. Not many players come out of retirement, wait 1072 days between games and get redrafted twice. Reid, 28, knows there will not be a third time.
Reid was only 23 when he retired reluctantly at the end of 2013 with a year left to run on his contract after being told by Leon Cameron his days as a player were numbered.
His initial thought was to tell Cameron, who had just taken over from Kevin Sheedy, to "shove it". He thought better of it and accepted a development role with the club.
He didn't know it then, but it was to prove the turning point in his career. The two years on the Giants' coaching staff enabled Reid, who had suffered osteitis pubis and undergone four shoulder reconstructions, to refresh his mind and body.
Still playing in the NEAFL, Reid relished the freedom that came with not being a listed player. He used to joke with the Giants' NEAFL coach at the time Brett Hand, who now heads the club's development and welfare, that he was going so well he would have been challenging for a game in the seniors had he been eligible.
His form did not go unnoticed. The Giants used selection eight in the rookie draft in 2015 to give Reid an AFL lifeline. He has played 25 games since his second coming as a Giant, including every match this season, which is significant for a player who has never been an automatic selection. Remarkably, he has played in more draws than losses at the Giants.
Reid credits his revival to the more relaxed attitude he has taken since his first retirement.
"The first six years I was always stressed, worried about how I played because I was on the fringe," Reid said.
"The two years I had off I found a real love for the game. I had that mentality, I want to enjoy it, love it, bounce off the crowd and give as much as I can, be myself.
"That's the mentality I try and have now."
While most players try to distance themselves from the game in their downtime, Reid cannot get enough of it – even the talk shows that are the staple for football tragics.
"I watch nearly every game on the weekends," he said. "I don't know if that was the coaching stuff I did, but I try and watch everything I can.
"I watch all the footy shows as well, which I never used to do."
As a former coach, Reid knows competition for his place in the team will intensify when the injury-hit Giants get more players back. For now, he is happy just to be on the park.
"Not many people get an opportunity – I've been drafted three times," Reid said.
"It's been a long ride."