Hawthorn Brent Guerra will notch game No. 250 against Richmond at the MCG

MILESTONE MAN: BRENT Guerra often wonders where life and football would have taken him without the intervention of Alastair Clarkson.

Brent Guerra

BRENT Guerra often wonders where life and football would have taken him without the intervention of Alastair Clarkson.

The stark reality of the game hit when St Kilda coach Grant Thomas called him into his Moorabbin Oval office at the end of the 2005 season and sacked him after 31 games and two seasons.

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Guerra was 23 years-old and already at his second AFL club after being drafted in 2000 to Port Adelaide as a 17 year-old before heading back to Victoria after a solid but otherwise unspectacular four season and 65 game career in South Australia.

As luck would have it, he played in Central District's 2001 SANFL premiership side coached by Clarkson who would later spend time as an assistant coach at Port Adelaide before being appointed Hawthorn coach in 2005.

Guerra remembers Clarkson phoning him after St Kilda delisted him and suggested they have a coffee.

He invited him to train and then offered him the chance to play at the Hawks, a club on the rebuild after finishing second last in 2004 and then winning only five games in Clarkson's first season.

Brent Guerra

Like a lot of young players before him, Guerra had fallen victim to the bright lights and party life. Deep down he knew he'd let himself down.

He never shied away from his mistakes, knowing Hawthorn was not only his last chance but he had to prove people wrong as he realised he could no longer live like what he describes an 18 year-old.

Eight seasons later Guerra, who his teammates call "Goo", will play his 250th game when he lines up against Richmond at the MCG today.

"Back then when I'd played 65 games at Port I thought playing 100 games was a lot, but to get to 250 has blown me away actually," he said this week.

"Especially with what has happened in the career with getting traded by Port Adelaide and then getting delisted by St Kilda so it's great to get there.

"I probably got caught up in going out a little bit too much as a young kid and then to come back to Melbourne to become closer to the family and friends was great.

"But then when I went to St Kilda I probably got caught up in it again because I was with my mates - late nights and not looking after myself and not living the elite lifestyle that AFL footballers should."

Clarkson had earmarked Guerra as a key player in defence. When he didn't get a game for Port Adelaide, Clarkson used him in defence at Central District where his deadly and accurate left-foot was a feature of his game. It's regarded as the best "left leg" in the business and has setup countless Hawthorn attacks out of defence.

Looking for his third club, Clarkson told Guerra the Hawks would take him with the No. 3 selection in the 2005 preseason draft, but the offer came only after the coach explained what was expected.

"When I got to Hawthorn, Clarko really put it on me to prove everyone wrong and I feel as though I've done that," Guerra said.

"Clarko has been great for my career and who knows where I'd be today if he hadn't given me that chance. I felt as though I've paid him back since I've been here and he's been great for my career and he has given me an opportunity.

"I wanted to play under Clarko and I knew I owed him massively if he gave me that opportunity, the same as I would have any other club."

Guerra agrees there would be a lot of people at Port and St Kilda surprised he is still playing and will celebrate his milestone game today, none more so than the man who sacked him at Moorabbin.

"I suppose I could say I'm not surprised, but that wouldn't be telling the truth," Thomas said.

"I can honestly say I never thought he'd get to 250 games.

"It's an incredible credit to him and his resilience, adaptability and his ability to reinvent himself."

Thomas said Guerra was a direct beneficiary of today's game and would not have been as effective as a defender in the 1990s or the early part of this decade, where speed was a key ingredient, rather than today's often static set-ups.

As much as Guerra wanted to prove Thomas wrong for delisting him, he admits he was "disappointed within myself as well".

"Disappointed, just the way I went about my career early on and once I got to Hawthorn, Clarko put it on my pretty hard that I needed to change a few things and Andrew Russell, our fitness coach, who was at Port Adelaide when I was there, put it on me as well and I've really turned things around.

"I still enjoy a beer but in terms of going out and acting like an 18 year-old, all those days have changed."

Guerra missed last year's finals series after tearing his hamstring in the final home and away game against West Coast at the MCG.

To play in ther Grand Final meant he had just four weeks to recover from what he knew was more like a six-week injury.

Guerra abandoned his Grand Final plans on the Monday before the biggest game of the season and admits it was a gut-wrenching and difficult decision, especially when he had to address his teammates and coaches.

"I probably could have gone out there and played, but who knows, I could have done my hammy in the first five minutes," he said.

"I knew deep down that I wasn't 100 per cent to play and that's when I spoke to Clarko and Andrew Russell and said I couldn't put my hand up to play."

Guerra wants another contract in 2014 and when his time comes to retire, he wants to coach.

His best friend at Hawthorn, captain Luke Hodge describes Guerra as a good, old country boy who enjoys spending time with his mates.

"He pretty laconic and it takes a fair bit to annoy him because he's a pretty relaxed person who is good to be around and he's always looking for a bit of fun."

Hodge said Clarkson knew what sort of football Guerra could produce it was a matter of settling him down and making him aware of the sacrifices he had to make for football.