The Swans are stiff. They are on a high after successive victories against Melbourne and Collingwood but this Sunday at home they will hit a brick wall. And that brick wall is Brisbane, a team that will be supercharged to honour its first-ever 300-game player. Yes, Marcus Ashcroft will achieve that enormous honour and become the first Queenslander to reach the triple century. Jason Dunstall was on track with his mighty Hawks but cruel knee injuries late in his career left him 31 games short.
Throughout his career, which began as a Bear at Carrara on the Gold Coast in 1989, Ashcroft has kept a low profile. He is a modest, unassuming young man. But don't be fooled - inside that calm exterior sits a big motor. In my 30-plus years as a player and coach, Ashcroft sits with another old Lion, Garry Wilson, as the most professional player I have seen. He has been committed to his football since he started his AFL career as a 17-year-old.
As a non-drinker, non-smoker, the former Surfers Paradise Football Club junior became a super athlete. He led the way in all the fitness tests. With plenty of management and a little luck, he has missed only a handful of games to injury and none to suspension over the past 15 seasons. Without ever winning a best-and-fairest award, Ashcroft has finished top five an amazing nine times.
The durable No. 10 has seen the lot. He is the only Brisbane player to have played under every Brisbane coach. There have been seven, from Peter Knights to Leigh Matthews. He has played in three wooden-spoon teams and, should the Lions take the flag this season, it will be three premierships.
For me, he was a delight to coach. When I got to Carrara in '91, Ashcroft was still a teenager with just 20 games to his credit. He had already seen three coaches come and go. Away from football, we had a common interest in golf. Playing off single figures he was precise and measured with his strokeplay. I could never beat him. His dad, Dennis, worked in the marketing department of the club and mum Mandy never missed a home game. Mandy's brother John Townsend played in the Melbourne premiership team of 1964 before settling in Noosa. So, even though the young Ashcroft grew up as a Queenslander, Aussie rules was in his blood.
As a footballer, Ashcroft evolved from a run-with tagging type, to a classy, high-possession midfielder, to close-down back-line stopper who has become the rock of the Brisbane back line. Only his captain Michael Voss, Darryl White and his little helmeted Gold Coast mate, Shaun Hart, played with Ashcroft at Carrara.
In those days, Marcus, because of his superior fitness and discipline to follow instructions, got the run-with roles on the opposition's best. He learnt a lot playing on the Plattens, Harveys and Bradleys. Clean hands were a trademark, fumbles were few, and an ability to swoop in low on a ground ball at top pace stood out. So, too, did the bullet-like kicks. They were always hard and low. Full-forward Roger Merrett loved the way the kid prepared and played and the way he hit him on the chest with bullets. Very few got Roger's nod of approval, but Marcus did at an early age.
In the mid-'90s, his football flourished. Playing an attacking midfielder, he won acclaim as one of Brisbane's best. With the wins for the first time outnumbering the losses and, with that, a regular taste of finals football, Ashcroft was at his peak.
The honours flowed. He was club vice-captain and a regular in the Allies' State of Origin teams and the Australian International Rules sides. Footballers throughout Australia rated Marcus Ashcroft. And then, for the first time, in early 2001, there were some rumblings that he was "finished".
Matthews then pulled the right rein. He moved Ashcroft into defence. Now he is a permanent defender. Each week, Ashcroft gets the job to close down the opposition's most dangerous medium/small forward. He takes on the likes of Phillip Matera and Stephen Milne and rarely has his colours lowered.
With Ashcroft turning 32 in September, I wouldn't be surprised, especially if a third flag is secured, if the veteran called it quits. It has been a magnificent journey for the kid who grew up two kilometres from Carrara. The same kid who, at 15 years of age, once ran water for Hawthorn when it played up there.
In his first five years as an AFL player, Ashcroft played in teams that won just 21 per cent of their games. The second five-year period returned a 44 per cent success rate. The last five block has netted a sensational 73 per cent of wins. Marcus Ashcroft deserves that. He stuck firm through the bad old Bears days. He remained fiercely loyal to his mates and coaches. He kept the faith when many others didn't. He has inspired all of us who know him.
That's why I feel sorry for Paul Roos and his Swans come Sunday. Because Ashcroft is so highly respected by his teammates, they will be hellbent on ensuring that his 300th game is one he will look back on with fond memories.