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ONE hundred and fifty games is the in-between milestone, a marker ticked off on the way to 200. But for Kieren Jack it's an achievement he's proud of and one he never thought he'd make when he started his AFL career in 2007.
"I wished and dreamt that I could play senior football but there were a lot of doubters of me and I probably doubted it myself," Jack said.
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"When I came into the AFL environment I was a long way off and I had to improve and get better really quick. With a lot of hard work I've been able to get senior football and continue to play."
The transition from a battling rugby league convert to a regular face on the Swans team list had an unusual ally in controversial Lion and Bulldog Jason Akermanis.
Sydney Swans captain Kieren Jack will play his — 150th AFL match this weekend when the Swans take on Port Adelaide at the SCG. pic. Phil Hillyard Source: News Corp Australia
In a NAB Cup game in 2008 Paul Roos assigned Jack to tag the triple premiership player and Brownlow Medallist.
"While it was only a pre-season game it was a huge step up for me," Jack said.
"Aker might have been just running around having a bit of fun but it gave me a bit of confidence I could play at that level and that year I played all the games as a tagger.
"He was actually quite friendly, he was calling me to the bench with him and calling me to come back on. He actually shook my hand at the end of the match and wished me the best for the season."
Roos' move to play Jack on the game's elite turned out to be a stroke of coaching genius as Jack got to learn from a who's who of the AFL.
Jason Akermanis never went far without tagger Kieren Jack during a NAB Challenge game in 2008. Source: News Corp Australia
"Gary Ablett has enormous strength and has the ability to stand up in tackles," Jack said.
"Chance Bateman and his ability to run 200m strides up and down the ground, Ben Cousins and Chris Judd, there's a number of names there.
"I learned the foundation of AFL football. My background in AFL wasn't big and I had to learn the patterns of the game and tagging allowed me to do that.
Roosy thought if he could put me on a player and negate them with my competitive attitude I'd be able to learn some things along the way.
"It took a couple of seasons the first two seasons were real developing years for me. It was built on strong pre-seasons and working hard. I don't think I missed a game for probably the first five years I was here."
Sydney Swans captain Kieren Jack at 10 years of age playing for West Pennant Hills against North Hornsby in Sydney Primary Schools grand final at SCG in 1998. Pic. Phil Hillyard Source: News Corp Australia
After two years studying under the game's best Jack had earned his football Masters degree and graduated from tagger to taggee. 2010 was a breakout season where Jack added offence to his defence and claimed the Bob Skilton Medal.
"I know what taggers don't like," Jack said.
Jack and his growing list of Swans midfielders will have their work cut out tomorrow when they take on ladder leaders Port Adelaide at the SCG.
"Every game is important but when play teams near you on the ladder it's vitally important," Jack said.
"Port have been the benchmark. They're outstanding in a lot of areas we've looked at their stats and they're clearly number one in a lot of areas."
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