The list of 2017 retirees has not yet been finalised however thus far, it's a class that is arguably the greatest ever.
Names that have not only become synonymous with their club but the game itself, with one if not a couple set to go down as legends of the game.
The current list of retirees posses an imposing bunch of CVs:
6x 300 game players.
5x multiple best and fairest winners.
7x grand finallists.
5x multiple premiership winners.
2x Brownlow medallists.
The list of accolades for this class is never ending in a list that could still yet be complimented by one of the games greatest ever players.
However there's more to this piece than telling you how good these players were.
It's because of how good some of them were that they deserve something that our game has rarely seen.
To have their jumper number never worn again.
While most of those in the Grand Final motorcade will see the doors of the AFL Hall of Fame in the future, it's a set of doors that is becoming increasingly like a set of turnstiles as you enter the MCG. Or Etihad Stadium. Or Adelaide Oval. Or any of the many grounds we have in the league.
Almost anyone can get in (okay, not actually anyone, but you'll see my point).
Since 1996 when the AFL Hall of Fame was formed, there have been 132 additions to claim the league's most prestigious honour.
On average, that is 6.6 payers inducted in the Hall of Fame per year. A number that is far too high, essentially making room for 'really good' players instead of exclusively just 'great' players and/or members of the game.
Luke Hodge is not your average, run of the mill player. Alongside some of the names that currently sit in the AFL Hall of Fame, Hodge's name and place in the game would tower over some of them.
Which is precisely why he, along with a select few, deserve more.
Along with life memberships, hall of fames and all of the media accolades they will earn in the future, they deserve something else more meaningful.
Ace Bailey of Ice Hockey's Toronto Maple Leafs was the first player have his jersey retired and it has since become a gesture that is common through the American sporting landscape as well as in soccer, to a lesser extent.
Travel to almost any major league stadium in the United States and you'll see a jersey, banner or some form of tribute to that team's greatest ever players.
So why can't it happen in our great game?
It doesn't take long for a lot of professional athletes to become distant memories in the minds of some supporters.
Just like the AFL Hall of Fame, there can be no set criteria for which a player and/or potential member has to fulfil to have the honour bestowed upon them.
North Melbourne indefinitely retired Brent Harvey's number 29 jumper last year after the AFL games' record holder announced his retirement, with Harvey saying he was humbled by the decision.
“[I’m] obviously very privileged that the club have chosen to do that," he said at the time.
Retiring a players number is not only just to honour a player, but it also has the ability to educate future fans of the game when they notice a particular number is hanging in the rafters of a stadium or isn't on the field.
Darren Millane's number 42 jersey was retired by Collingwood after the premiership player was tragically killed in a car crash in 1991.
As Eddie McGuire pointed out in 2011, his children (aged eight and 10 at the time) had no idea about who Darren Millane was until the story was explained to them.
Millane's jersey is yet to be put back into circulation, almost 26 years after his death.
To any casual fan of a side, a number of an all-time great of the club would mean very little if anything at all, however, to a die-hard fan, they would be able to tell you every detail about that player's career.
With the class of 2017 possessing a couple of truly special once in a generation players for their clubs, the retirement of their jerseys could be just reward for giving their blood, sweat and tears to the sport they have given everything to since they have been old enough to walk.
