When it comes to Australian Rules Football, the number on the back of the jumper has always meant less, while simultaneously meaning more.

Unlike all forms of rugby and the world game, they don't denote any particular position, and unlike the NFL for the longest time, there has never been any restriction on which player could wear which number - except for seniority, of course.

Dissimilar to most American sports, we don't retire our numbers, either, meaning that new generations of stars and spuds alike have the opportunity to eclipse the legacies of champions that came before them.

From the legends in the low-numbered lockers to the also-rans with sixty-something stitched to the backs, here are the players that made the most AFL/VFL appearances in every jumper guernsey number ever seen.

Beware, things get a bit odd once we hit the late 40s.

Back
Next

25-32 

25 - Shannon Hurn - West Coast - 332 games
26 - Tom Hawkins - Geelong - 347* games
27 - Simon Madden - Essendon - 378 games
28 - Peter Jones - Carlton - 249 games
29 - Brent Harvey - North Melbourne - 432 games
30 - Francis Bourke - Richmond - 300 games
31 - Dustin Fletcher - Essendon - 400 games
32 - Mark Ricciuto - Adelaide - 312 games

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JULY 30: Brent Harvey of the Kangaroos is chaired from the field after his record breaking 427th match by teammates Drew Petrie (left) and Michael Firrito (right) during the 2016 AFL Round 19 match between the North Melbourne Kangaroos and the St Kilda Saints at Etihad Stadium on July 30, 2016 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Media/Getty Images)
Back
Next