High numbers you forgot AFL legends wore early in their careers

Can you imagine Buddy not wearing No.23, Scott Pendlebury not in No.10 or Dustin Martin busting tackles in No.36? They are just some of the AFL champs who started in a different number to the one they made famous.

Tim Michell and Al Paton

8 min read

April 28, 2020 - 12:11PM

A young Max Gawn started his career in Jim Stynes old No.37, before moving to Jim Stynes’ old No.11.

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If you take a liking to a fresh recruit at your club, it pays to wait a year or two before investing in a new number for your footy jumper.

Those numbers often change, even for the biggest names in the game from Lance Franklin and Dustin Martin to legends Tony Lockett and Robert Harvey.

Take a trip down memory lane to remember some of the numbers worn by footy superstars that we had forgotten about.

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Lance Franklin started his career wearing No.38 for Hawthorn.

JAMES HIRD (ESSENDON)

Four games in #49, 249 games in #5.

Hird played the first four matches of his celebrated Bombers career in the No.49 jumper before taking Terry Daniher’s No.5 when he retired at the end of 1992. He showed plenty of promise playing in the higher number, kicking five goals in 1992 after debuting in Round 1.

LANCE FRANKLIN (HAWTHORN/SYDNEY)

20 games in #38, one game in #67, 279 games in #23.

Franklin’s No.23 is spoken about in the same breath as sportsmen such as Dermott Brereton, Shane Warne and Michael Jordan who wore the same number. Fellow key forward Nathan Thompson was the last Hawk to wear the number before Franklin’s long stint began in 2006. The number is so iconic little-known Swan Jordan Lockyer was forced to give it up when Buddy moved to Sydney in 2014.

NICK MAXWELL (COLLINGWOOD)

10 games in #43, 62 games in #27, 136 games in #5.

Maxwell debuted in No.43, spent three seasons in No.27 and was upgraded to No.5 in 2008 after Magpies champion and current coach Nathan Buckley retired.

SCOTT PENDLEBURY (COLLINGWOOD)

Nine games in #16, 293 games in #10.

The Magpies skipper running around without No.10 on his back just doesn’t seem right. But it happened in 2006 — when Pendlebury featured in nine matches as No.16 after being recruited with the fifth pick in the 2005 draft. At the end of his debut campaign he inherited No.10 from Blake Caracella.

Wayne Carey wore No.40 in four matches before taking No.18 for North Melbourne.

WAYNE CAREY (NORTH MELBOURNE/ADELAIDE)

Four games in #40, 240 games in #18, 28 games in #2 at Adelaide.

Who remembers one of the AFL’s greatest players starting his career in No.40? A young Carey conceded five free kicks in his debut match in Round 11, 1989. He took on No.18 the following year when he became a senior regular at Arden St.

SAM MITCHELL (HAWTHORN/WEST COAST)

30 games in #28, 277 games in #5, 22 games in #1 at West Coast

We can’t tell you what number Mitchell wore in Box Hill’s 2001 premiership side but he was handed No.28 after being snapped up by the Hawks in the 2001 super draft. That lasted two seasons and 30 games before the No.5 became available when Daniel Harford was traded to Carlton. Mitchell wore it with distinction for 277 games before finishing his career in No.1 at West Coast.

RORY SLOANE (ADELAIDE)

15 games in #31, 185 games in #9.

The Crows captain had a blast from the past when he wore No.31 for Victoria in this year’s Bushfire relief game. That was the number Sloane wore for his first two seasons at Adelaide before taking over No.9 from club great Tyson Edwards, who wore it for 14 distinguished seasons. Sloane’s original No.31 went to Jarryd Lyons, who wore it for five years before moving to Gold Coast.

LEIGH MATTHEWS (HAWTHORN)

44 games in #32, one game in #53, 287 games in #3.

Football fans of a certain vintage will recall Matthews making an early impression in No.32 for Hawthorn. He had 36 disposals and kicked two goals against Carlton in his only game wearing No.53. That was the one match he didn’t have No.3 on his back from 1972-85.

A rare photo of St Kilda’s Robert Harvey wearing No. 52 early in his career.

ROBERT HARVEY (ST KILDA)

Four games in #52, 379 games in #35.

St Kilda legend Harvey lost each of the four matches he played in No.52 in 1988. He jumped 17 jumper spots to No.35 in 1989 and spent 20 seasons with the number on his back, retiring in 2008 after 383 matches.

NATHAN FYFE (FREMANTLE)

18 games in #13, 156 games in #7.

Brett Peake wore No.7 for five seasons with the Dockers before his trade to St Kilda opened the door for Fyfe to move into single digits. Fyfe averaged 16 disposals and kicked 14 goals from 18 matches with No.13 before developing into one of the game’s modern greats in No.7.

DUSTIN MARTIN (RICHMOND)

21 games in #36, 204 games in #4.

The first game of 2010 was noteworthy for a number of reasons. It was Damien Hardwick’s first game as Richmond coach and the Tigers also fielded three debutants: Relton Roberts, Ben Nason and a spiky-haired kid wearing No.36 named Dustin Martin. Roberts and Nason didn’t exactly take off, but Tiger fans would be pretty happy with the return from the other two. Martin played 21 games in his debut season in No.36 before switching to the No.4 he has made famous — although it had a pretty rich history at Punt Rd already via Royce Hart and Geoff Raines. In a quirk of history, Geoff’s son Andrew was the last Richmond player to wear No.4 before Dusty.

Dustin Martin hadn’t perfected the don’t argue in his first season.

Future dual Brownlow medallist Nat Fyfe in 2010.

GARY ABLETT SR (HAWTHORN/GEELONG)

Six games in #35 at Hawthorn, 242 games in #5.

The No.5 has become one of Geelong’s most famous jumpers thanks to Ablett’s feats over 242 games with Geelong. In his brief career with Hawthorn in 1982, the Cats great wore No.35. Ablett booted 10 majors in six matches for the Hawks, merely a tease of the worldly talents he would display at Kardinia Park.

LEIGH MONTAGNA (ST KILDA)

22 games in #28, 265 games in #11.

The sight of No.11 running down the wing at what is now Marvel Stadium or the MCG is etched into the minds of St Kilda and footy fans, so it’s hard to imagine Leigh Montagna donning anything different. But a young “Joey” played three seasons in No.28 (for 22 games and 21 goals) before switching to No.11 in 2005 and wearing it for 265 games, the most of any Saint in the guernsey number.

MAX GAWN (MELBOURNE)

26 games in #37, 95 games in #11.

The new Melbourne captain has described Jim Stynes as his inspiration, and not just because he has worn the numbers 37 (26 games) and 11 (95 games) at the Dees — the same numbers worn by his Irish-born hero. Earlier this year Gawn gave credit to his first mentor at Melbourne and a man who taught him to do “whatever it takes”. “For him (that) was drinking his own urine to stay alive which was pretty gruesome and not to the extent I’ll get to, hopefully, to win a game of footy. But it would be interesting drinking my own urine at three-quarter-time, wouldn’t it?”

TONY LOCKETT (ST KILDA/SYDNEY)

12 games in #37, 81 games in #14, three games in #46, 185 games in #4.

Lockett’s brief comeback in No.46 is best consigned to the dustbin of footy history. But the greatest goalkicker in the game’s history didn’t always wear No.4, bagging 335 of his 1360 career goals in No.14. Plugger cracked the ton for the first time wearing that number, recording 117.52 during an incredible 1987 campaign. He switched to No.4 the next year and wore it for seven seasons at the Saints and another four at Sydney.

A young Michael Voss (right) enjoys a Brisbane Bears win with Darryl White.

MICHAEL VOSS (BRISBANE BEARS/LIONS)

Six games in #56, 283 games in #3.

One of the AFL’s great careers started in Round 18, 1992 with future Lions skipper Voss wearing No. 56 against Fitzroy. Voss had a team-high 26 possessions on debut in a 41-point win for Brisbane Bears. Matthew Ahmat (six games) wore No.3 before Voss.

BRAD JOHNSON (FOOTSCRAY/WESTERN BULDOGS)

Nine games in #33, 355 games in #6.

Johnno found himself in the surreal position last weekend commentating a match featuring himself in Fox Footy’s live recall. That game, the 1994 qualifying final, was one of nine matches the fresh-faced young Bulldog played in his debut season, wearing No.33. The next year he switched to No.6, taking over from defender Tony Campbell. And he made it famous in another 355 games in red, white and blue.

Another promising young Bulldog also played in an unfamiliar number that night against the Cats: Scott West in No.14. He wore that for two seasons before inheriting No.7 from the great Doug Hawkins.

JORDAN LEWIS (HAWTHORN/MELBOURNE)

19 games in #40, 245 games in #3, 55 games in #6 at Melbourne.

Lewis was the cherry on top of Hawthorn’s delicious 2004 draft cake, arriving at pick 7 after the Hawks had already pocketed Lance Franklin and Jarryd Roughead. All three started in much higher numbers than the ones they wore in their premiership years, with Lewis given No.40 — the highest of the trio. After one year, and 19 games, he was promoted to No.3 in 2006, taking over the number from defender Jonathan Hay and wearing it for 245 games in brown and gold (including four flags) before finishing in No.6 at Melbourne.

Hawthorn youngsters Jordan Lewis, Simon Taylor and Jarryd Roughead made their debut in the same round of 2005.

JARRYD ROUGHEAD (HAWTHORN)

16 games in #35, 267 games in #2.

Like Lewis and Buddy, Jarryd Roughead played his first season in an unfamiliar number. He donned No.35 for 16 games in 2005 (mostly as a defender — he booted six goals for the year) before switching to the much more familiar No.2 in 2006. They were big boots to fill - Nick Holland had worn it with distinction for the previous 12 seasons — but Roughie did it proud.

JASON AKERMANIS (BRISBANE BEARS/LIONS/WESTERN BULLDOGS)

17 games in #35, 21 games in #20, 210 games in #12, 77 games in #21 at Western Bulldogs

Number 12 has been worn by some of the best players of the modern era, including Nick Riewoldt and Matthew Richardson — who both wore it for their entire careers. It took Aker a little longer to graduate to No.12 after he started his career in No.35 at the Brisbane Bears in 1995. He did enough to move up to No.20 the next year before landing No.12 in 1997 and sticking with it for the next 210 games, including three premierships. After moving to the Bulldogs he flipped his numbers to 21, an appropriate move for a player who liked to turn things on their heads (literally).

NATHAN BURKE (ST KILDA)

16 games in #48, 80 games in #29, 227 games in #3.

Burke was a product of an era when young players were handed high numbers and had to earn a promotion up (or down) the order. Given No.48 in his debut season, Burke averaged 17 disposals in 16 games. That was enough to jump 19 spots to No.29, which he wore for the next four seasons before the combination of the No.3 and a helmet became part of Saints folklore.

GRANT BIRCHALL (HAWTHORN/BRISBANE LIONS)

16 games in #35, 232 games in #14.

The Hawks saw enough in goalsneak Harry Miller to promote him from No.14 to No.4 in 2006. That didn’t exactly work out — the played just four more games — but he did free up the No.14 for a skinny defender named Grant Birchall, who handed in his No.35. Birchall hung onto No.14 after moving to the Brisbane Lions after it was conveniently vacated by Josh Walker.