Henley Sharks veteran Darren Kite set to play 400th game
DARREN Kite has spent the past few years incorrectly believing he is Henley Football Club’s games record holder. But this weekend he will play his 400th game for the Sharks.
DARREN Kite has spent the past few years believing he is Henley Football Club’s games record holder.
Until this month, the ruckman believed he passed the milestone a few years back when he lined up for the Sharks for the 383rd time.
But in the lead-up to his 400th match for Henley on Saturday, Kite, 44, was told he still had a while to go yet to beat at least one club stalwart’s mark, believed to be more than 430 games.
“I thought that (382 games) was the record because I was mixed up with the committee for some time and never saw any figures to the contrary,” Kite says.
“But I was speaking to someone at the club who was saying it’s not the record.
“I’m going ‘you know how to shoot someone down in flames, don’t you’.
“400 is pretty good but I’m not sure I can make (the record).”
Kite will chalk up his 400th game against Port District at Henley Memorial Oval in the amateur league’s C1 competition.
“I’ve enjoyed every minute,” Kite says.
He joined Henley’s under-18s in 1989 after his family moved near the club.
Stubbornness and a love of the game keeps him involved.
“I train and it’s not ‘I can’t be stuffed’, I actually like it.”
Kite wears an old-school Henley guernsey to Thursday night trainings so he stands out to selectors.
He typically tapes his head before matches and ends them wrapped in bandages because his head splits open easily.
“It wouldn’t be a game if I didn’t bleed.”
Kite has snared four senior flags and reckons he has had more than 400 teammates.
There are about 20 players aged 20 or younger in the current squad and just six older than 25, including his stepson Gavin.