It’s been a long road to 250 games, but I still remember my debut against the Crows back in round one of 2003.
It was over in Adelaide, and I came up against a legend of the game in Matthew Clarke.
I remember walking off the ground after that game and realising how much I had to learn, and how much I had to improve to become any good at AFL level.
To go from there to being on the cusp of playing my 250th, I can’t help but think of everyone who helped me behind the scenes.
And that’s what playing 250 means to me.
At the club, you’ve got guys like Paul Salis who have been at Freo for a long period of time and always go above and beyond. It’s everyone from the physios, to the club doctors and coaches.
There’s just a huge amount of people behind the scenes that contribute to getting to that 250 mark.
When I first came to the club, Simon Eastaugh was still on the list and I was pretty raw.
'Easty' and I had played a season together at East Fremantle and at Freo he pretty much took me under his wing.
The guidance and the knowledge that he passed onto me over that period of time was priceless.
It was pretty selfless of him.
He became our ruck coach and he’s still our ruck coach now - so he’s had a huge influence not only on my football career but life in general.
I never thought I was good enough to get on an AFL list but when I got rookie listed I decided to throw everything at it for 12 months to see where it took me.
It was a huge learning curve. You walk in the door and there’s guys that you idolise as a kid growing up and next thing you know you’re sitting next to them and training with them.
I was fortunate to have the opportunity to play a fair amount of footy in my first year on the main list.
When you come up against a quality ruckman each week - you’re just trying to learn from the way they go about it.
Off the field, and just as important to my career, has been my family.
They make all the sacrifices along the way. They ride the highs and the lows and they’ve always been by my side.
The support that I’ve had from my mum, dad, brother and sister coming through, and then Jen and our kids - they all mean so much to me.
Aaron out on the field with his business partner and dad, Gary Sandilands.
When I’m running around and playing the game, all I want to do is to make them proud.
They’re pretty special.
It will be an honour to become the third player to reach 250 games for the club, alongside 'Pav' and 'Barra'.
They’re quality guys, both on and off the field.
After playing so much footy with Pav, it’s been different not having him around.
Aaron with long time teammate, Matthew Pavlich
I hold them in such high regard, and I’ve learnt a lot from them.
Finally, to the fans.
You know you’re alive when you run out to go through the banner and the Freo faithful erupt.
I can’t help but appreciate the support they’ve given me and the footy club along the way.
It’s great to be able to play my 250th game in Perth, even if it’s not our home game.
But it doesn't take too many Fremantle supporters to get together and make a decent noise. They are so passionate and we’ll all appreciate their backing on Saturday.
