Collingwood's Mr.Ultra-consistent Jack Crisp insists that there's plenty more football ahead of him as he prepares to knock the late great Melbourne champion Jim Stynes off the top of the V/AFL record for most consecutive games.
Stynes set the record between 1987 and 1998 during his time at the Demons, playing 244 of his 264 matches in a row. On Saturday night at the MCG, Crisp will play his 245th, and with an eye for more.
"As long as the club keeps giving me a contract, I reckon I can keep going for a while," Crisp said.
"I feel really good physically. I've got a couple more years left and then we'll see what happens after that."
The left-footer's record started during his time at Brisbane, playing the final six matches of the 2014 season for the Queensland club, before famously being involved in the Dayne Beams trade that saw the Pies claim Pick 5 (Jordan De Goey), Pick 25 and Crisp.
Since then, the 31-year-old has two Copeland trophies to his name, a premiership medallion and a Neale Daniher trophy (2024) for best afield in the King's Birthday clash.
But the long-standing and impressive record did come with its hurdles, with the former Lion revealing there was a heart-in-throat moment at the end of 2018.
"I've had sore hips, back, and feet. I had a stress fracture in my back at the end of 2018, and then I got my hip cleaned out, so I didn't run for three months," Crisp said.
"And I know the club was a bit cautious after that because Jamie Elliott had missed the whole year with a back (injury).
"So, lucky the timing was the end of season, but I get managed pretty well at different times of the year, and all the work that I do in terms of rehab and preparation for training and games, the time I put into my body, to make sure none of those niggles are going to progress any further.
Collingwood coach Craig McRae cheekily revealed that Crisp was also in doubt during the COVID-19-impacted seasons, saying he almost missed games due to illness.
"At one stage he might've had symptoms of Covid, but maybe he didn't have Covid," McRae said.
"Maybe he might have, but he didn't."
The record was also in jeopardy early in 2024 when the Pies, fresh off a premiership, were 0-3 and heading to Brisbane.
McRae had opted to "manage" veteran Steele Sidebottom while Crisp's form warranted a demotion. He was named as the tactical sub.
Collingwood welcomed Sam Stynes to the club - Jim's widow - to address the players and acknowledge Crisp of his achievement.
"We had a bit of a joke that Jim would be a bit narky about this happening because he was competitive," Sam Stynes said.
