Sydney Swans player Adam Goodes says working hard to look after his body has allowed him to play a record number of games, as the star approaches 341 this weekend.
“It is a lot of games but I think it's a pat on the back for the way I've gone about my football," he said. "Looking after you're body, the recovery, doing all those little things that sometimes players can find hard to do."
He said that to surpass another great Indigenous player, Adelaide's Andrew McLeod, was special.
"It's a huge honour," he said.
"Andrew McLeod is a very good friend of mine; there have been a couple of us who've played over 300 games, which is a fantastic effort."
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Goodes said he had been unsure if he could return to form after being sidelined with a knee injury last year.
"I definitely knew I would [play again], I just didn't know how good I'd be or what level I'd get back at," he said.
Recruited from North Ballarat, Goodes made his Swans debut in 1999.
He is a dual premiership winner, having lifted the trophy in 2005 and again in 2012.
He has also won the AFL's highest honour, the Brownlow Medal, on two occassions. His first in 2003 and then followed up just three years later in 2006.
