Another dominant season by Aaron Sandilands has gone relatively unnoticed, despite the ruckman setting several club hit-out records.
While much of the media focus has been on team mates such as Nat Fyfe and Lachie Neale, Sandilands has been in rare form.
It is a well-worn cliché, but Sandilands seems to be getting better with age.
He set a number of personal bests this year, ahead of his 33rd birthday in December.
Sandilands set a club record for most hit-outs this season, with 998, eclipsing his own record of 890 set in 2014.
He averaged a whopping 43.4 hit-outs per game.
Sandilands makes AFL history
Sandilands now has nine of the top 10 records for most hit-outs in the club’s 21-year history.
The ruckman also set and then broke his club record for most hit-outs in a single game.
In round 11, Sandilands had 70 hit-outs against the Gold Coast after winning 69 against Adelaide in round 9.
His 998 hit-outs in 2015 is the second most recorded in a single VFL/AFL season since records began with Gary Dempsey’s 940 in 1982.
Coincidentally, North Melbourne’s Todd Goldstein topped the all-time list with 1058 this season.
Sandilands missed out on a spot in the All Australian squad to Goldstein and West Coast’s Nic Naitanui.
