Tom Stewart is the first to admit that playing 150 games wasn’t on his mind when he made his AFL debut.
But, almost seven years to the day later, the Geelong vice-captain will add another accolade to his already impressive resume when the Cats travel across to Adelaide for a Friday night meeting with the Crows.
“It’s something that I’m really proud of, not only for myself but my family and all of those who have put some work and time into me over the journey,” he said.
“I keep finding myself travelling interstate, though, so people are getting pretty annoyed with me whenever I play a milestone game.
“I think there’s about a dozen that will end up coming across, which is pretty cool.
“I’ve had the same group of friends since I was 13-14-years-old from South Barwon.
“And my partner, kids and some family members (will be at the game) as well.
“It’s a nice time to have and to reflect on those people that have been on the journey with me.”
More importantly, Stewart is keen for Geelong to return home with the four points against an Adelaide team looking to avoid an 0-2 start.
He admits the Cats’ eight-point win over St Kilda to mark the opening of the Joel Selwood Stand “wasn’t perfect”.
“St Kilda play a really honest and hard defensive style that we’ve come to expect from Ross (Lyon).
“I think the most pleasing thing was that we just came out, played our way, albeit, as I said, not perfect for the whole 120 minutes, but we got the job done.
“We’ve got plenty to work on, but it was a great start.”
CATS: CLARK “FEELING COMFORTABLE”
One of the positives for Geelong was the run provided by Max Holmes, whose late pre-season move to half-back has proven a winner.
He tallied 23 disposals for a game-high 686 metres gained, ten marks, seven score involvements, five inside 50s and four intercepts.
“His attitude towards it has been really fantastic,” Stewart said.
“He probably understood that going from the wing to inside (midfielder) isn’t something that is great for his endurance, potentially.
“Putting another string to his bow behind the ball, and adding another strength to his game with his legs and the power that he provides around the contest is something that is really, really good.
“He’s still a work in progress … he’s got massive scope for improvement, but he’s putting himself in the right position to impact the game.
“And, as we saw on Saturday, he’s doing that.”
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