Sam Day will play game 100 against Carlton and is determined to cement his spot in the Suns’ best 22

SAM Day has overcome a number of injuries throughout his career and he’s been moved all over the ground when fit. It’s a testament to his dedication and his versatility that he notches up game 100 this weekend and he’s determined to keep his spot in the Suns team.

Sam Day will play his 100th career game on Saturday. Picture: Getty

SAM Day will run on to Etihad Stadium to take on Carlton in his 100th game as a Sun on Saturday determined he is not just keeping a seat warm for Peter Wright.

Day was taken with the third pick in the Suns’ first draft behind David Swallow and Harley Bennell and although he missed the entire 2017 season with a broken hip — he has beaten the two midfielders to the milestone.

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Swallow joins the club next week, while Bennell sits on 83 having managed just two games in two years at his new club Fremantle.

That Day sits fifth among current players on the Suns’ games record list is testament to his versatility.

While skippers and fellow foundation players Tom Lynch and Steven May were quick to make key position posts their own, and Rory Thompson was identified as a defender after the briefest of trials as a forward, Day has played at both ends of the ground and in the ruck.

This year it was decided he would settle in attack, which pitched him in a battle with Wright, the 203cm No.8 pick from the 2014 draft.

Sam Day has been used in a variety of roles throughout his career, including in the ruck. Picture: Getty

Day’s opportunity to start the season alongside Lynch came when Wright went down with a calf injury on the eve of the Suns’ first JLT Series pre-season game.

New coach Stuart Dew has already floated the possibility of playing all three when Wright returns, depending on the opposition, and although Day believes it can work, he is also determined that when the decision is made to go with just two big men, it is his name that stays on the team sheet.

“I’m a lot different to them so I feel like I can bring a lot to the table because I don’t play the same way as them,’’ he said.

“I’m working on finishing my craft, taking more contested marks and then getting to more contests.

Sam Day will play his 100th career game on Saturday. Picture: Getty

“They go hand-in-hand, the more contests I get to the more opportunities I will have to have a crack at marks.

“And then the more marks you take the more shots at goal, it all follows.’’

Peer feedback was one of the major cultural changes introduced in the Rodney Eade era and promoted heavily with the elevation of Lynch and May to the captaincy.

It is an area that is not natural for the softly spoken Day, but another he is working hard to improve.

“I’m reserved, I probably would class myself as an introvert, I keep to myself a lot which has probably come back to hurt me at times,’’ he said.

“I’m never going to be loud or demanding, but I feel like I can give feedback and on more important issues, if I do get up and say something, because I am usually so quiet, it will be heard deeply so I feel like I can have a big impact.’’

Originally published as Sam Day will play game 100 against Carlton and is determined to cement his spot in the Suns’ best 22