Published On: Tue, Apr 29th, 2025

Parker guiding young Roos amid major milestone, Elliott joins elite goal-kicking club




From an individual player’s point of view, no doubt the highlight of the Anzac Round (Round 7) was the 300th game played by Luke Parker. Parker – like the other 300-game player this year, Jack Darling – moved to North Melbourne to achieve the total.

A premiership player, All-Australian and three-time Best & Fairest winner at the Swans, Parker has been a valuable player for the Kangaroos, adding experience to a team that could boast only three players who had qualified as Top 100 game players at the start of the season.

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Since then, the qualification of Nick Larkey for membership (at the expense of Denis Pagan, Steven Icke and Byron Pickett) and the impending elevation of Luke Davies-Uniacke, combined with the imported experience of Jack Darling and Caleb Daniel means that – whilst still not consistent – North Melbourne has shown to be more competitive this season than in 2024.

Parker became the 107th player to reach the 300-game milestone and has joined a group of ten players who finished their career on exactly that number. He sits in equal 97th place in the AFL Top 100 game players “hot seat”.

Based on his current form and barring injury, he should move up the list next week, causing the ten remaining players to drop to 98th position on the list.

With the possible addition of two new members to the 300-game club by the end of season 2025, it is now time for the AFL to scrap their list of the 681 players who have played 200 games from their AFL Record season guide and replace it with a more meaningful 250 game or 300 game list. I believe it should be 300 games as a list of the Top 100 achievers is universally recognised as a meaningful number.

Luke Parker wasn’t the only traditional milestone achiever on the weekend as Brisbane’s Callum Ah Chee and Aaron Naughton (Western Bulldogs) both played their 150th game and Ben McKay (Essendon), Connor Idun (Greater Western Sydney) and Kane Farrell (Port Adelaide) notched up 100 games.

At the other end of the scale, Oliver Wiltshire (Geelong), Campbell Gray (Richmond) and Jedd Busslinger (St Kilda) all stepped onto the field in an AFL game for the first time.

Goal-kicking wise, Collingwood’s Jamie Elliott became the 201st player to score 300-plus goals in the game against Essendon. He joined his new teammate, Tim Membrey (formerly of St Kilda), who became the 200th player to achieve the milestone earlier in the season.

The six current AFL Top 100 goal-kickers had mixed fortunes in Round 7. With the exception of Luke Breust (who was not selected), all other current players in the AFL Top 100 goal-kickers scored at least one goal. The best returns were achieved by Jeremy Cameron and Jack Gunston (four goals) and both were rewarded by a movement up the list:

Jeremy Cameron (Geelong/GWS) passed Jack Moriarty and Jack Gunston passed former Essendon champion rover Bill Hutchison, who played in the 1940s and 1950s. Tom Lynch (Richmond/Gold Coast) also disturbed the ranking of two Essendon champions, passing Terry Daniher (1976-1992) and equalling Scott Lucas (1996-2009) by kicking three goals.

Charlie Cameron (Brisbane/Adelaide), the heir apparent to a Top 100 ranking, missed out on scoring a goal for the third time in his five games this year so still remains four goals short of the “hot seat” 100th place.





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