Of that group, only four have managed to play 50 games or more.
Jarryd Blair will make it five against Geelong on Saturday.
It highlights the challenge faced by players who have played as rovers for their entire lives in a game increasingly dominated by names such as Cox, Sandilands and Naitanui who exhibit both extreme height and athleticism.
But to focus on Blair’s height would not do his first 49 games any justice.
One of the most improved players in the competition, Blair has already escaped the niche of ‘the boy who went from the rookie list to a premiership in 13 weeks’ that he was pigeonholed into by the trivia buffs after his role in Collingwood’s 2010 premiership.
His journey is an inspiration to all aspiring league footballers who should note that footballers with class, hardness, commitment and a tightly wired football brain will never go out of fashion.
Blair’s career began at Wonthaggi, a coastal town 132km south east of Melbourne, where he progressed to Gippsland Power in the TAC Cup competition.
By the time he had finished his time in the under-18s, Blair had represented Vic Country at the National Championships and tied for the Morrish Medal as the best player in the competition.
He told AFL Victoria that two former AFL stars had played a vital role in helping him reach his potential.
“I came in as an under-age player and probably didn’t train as hard as I could have and (coach) Adrian Hickmott helped me with my work rate,” Blair said.
“Both Austinn Jones and Hick combined have shaped the way I play footy I reckon. They really encourage you to train hard.”
Blair’s work ethic and swift improvement caught the eye of Collingwood’s National Recruiting Manager Derek Hine who offered him a lifeline with the 27th selection in the 2008 Rookie Draft. Blair had been overlooked in the November and had planned on trying his luck under Gavin Brown in Collingwood’s VFL team.
But Hine had other ideas.
“Jarryd led the [TAC Cup] competition in possessions and effective disposals, so he’s just a natural player,” he told collingwoodfc.com.au’s Jonathon Bernard hours after calling Blair’s name on 16 December, 2008.
Jarryd Blair lays a tackle against the Casey Scorpions in the 2009 VFL Elimination Final. Photo: Shane Barrie.
“He only stands 172, 173cm so he’s small in stature but the way that he plays the game we think that he’s potentially got the ability to actually go in and play in the midfield.
“He needs to obviously put on a little bit more size but he’s been able to demonstrate in the TAC that he’s an elite midfielder. If he was another two or three centimetres taller … he would have been drafted.”
In hindsight, it’s easy to see why Blair was always destined to stand above the pack, height or no height.
Blair kicks for goal on debut against the Eagles; gets dowsed in Powerade after winning his first match; dishes out a handball on the fly against Essendon in round 20.
The midfielder was a vital component of the VFL team’s charge to the 2009 Preliminary Final. He was named in the best in nine of his 20 matches and, along with Steele Sidebottom, Dayne Beams and good mate Tristan Francis, played with the youthful verve and tenacity that the VFL side had lacked the previous year.
The following year loomed as an early crossroads for Blair and all players in their second season on rookie lists across the country. As rookie contracts only last for two seasons, the enormity of any opportunity becomes magnified.
But no one could exemplify the maximising of an opportunity like Blair in 2010.
Blair celebrates kicking the second goal of the 2010 Grand Final.
After a consistent start to the VFL season, highlighted by his strong performance for the VFL state team against Western Australia, he received an eleventh hour promotion to the senior side when Sidebottom sat out the round 14 win against West Coast with a calf injury.
Blair stepped into the senior side and impressed with 16 disposals and five tackles, enough to earn a second crack. The following week, he coolly slotted two crucial goals from long range as Collingwood overhauled Port Adelaide at AAMI Stadium.
He has never looked back since.
Pumping the fist after one of his five goals against Carlton on the night of the flag unfurling in round three, 2011.
In the 52 games since his debut, Blair has missed only three (one due to injury, one when rested, and one when omitted for a week in 2011).
More incredibly, he has played in 41 winning teams and has tasted defeat on only seven occasions. Of his contemporaries, only Joel Selwood’s run of success at Geelong (45 wins from 49 matches) compares.
There has been one draw amongst the 49 matches, of course. Collingwood fans need little reminding of the circumstances surrounding it, either. Blair gathered 10 possessions and kicked an early goal in the drawn Grand Final against St Kilda in 2010 and held his place for the replay seven days later when he had nine touches and four tackles en route to becoming a premiership player in only his 13th game.
A fully fledged midfielder in his fourth season.
But there’s more to his story than simply being the rookie who found himself in the right place at the right time.
After 15 rounds, Blair ranks in the top five at Collingwood for disposals, handballs and goals and in the top three for clearances, while he sits second in contested possessions and first for tackles.
Perhaps he has inherited the spirit of three Collingwood rovers who stood under 174cm but count among the club’s finest players.
Lou Richards, Tony Shaw and Tony Francis all played well over 100 games and in premiership teams.
Although he’s only played 49, Jarryd Blair is well on the way to joining them.
Living the premiership dream with Collingwood on 2 October 2010.
