The AFL’s oldest player Dustin Fletcher fab at 40

Greig Johnston
May 07, 2015, updated May 07, 2015

Essendon defender Dustin Fletcher will make history on Saturday night, when he becomes just the second man to play VFL/AFL football over the age of 40.

Fletcher celebrates his 40th birthday on Thursday, and joins Vic Cumberland – a ruckman in Melbourne’s premiership team of 1900 – as the only men to play into their fifth decade.

Fletcher’s longevity is testament to balance.

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In this age of ultra-professionalism, he says being able to tune out football when he’s not around the club helps maintain his hunger.

“Football’s a demanding sport and a tough sport,” he told The Age last year.

“There are times when I try and mentally switch off because I don’t know if you can keep that up for the whole year.

Dustin Fletcher on Stephen Kernahan in the 1993 Grand Final. Photo: Getty

“The game to me is the real part of it, and that’s what I’ve enjoyed. I’m still enjoying it now.”

It’s a good thing he enjoys the games, given he’s played 397 of them stemming back to his 1993 debut.

He’s played on all the great forwards of yesteryear, including Lockett, Dunstall, Ablett, Kernahan and Modra.

The only modern rivals to his longevity are Michael Tuck and Craig Bradley, both of whom were 38 when they called time on astonishing careers.

The year he debuted, Jurassic Park was the top-grossing movie at the box office, but Fletcher is no dinosaur – he’s adapted with the times: integral in the modern work force.

No longer the Bombers’ premier backman, he’s become vital in their rebound game, consistently bobbing up with a saving mark or diving spoil.

Football is second-nature to him – and there’s no substitute for experience.

His goal from inside the centre square on Anzac Day (with a drop punt mind) was pure class.

Footy stars who shine after their 40th birthday are scarce, but even in more sedate games it is still highly unusual.

Surfer Kelly Slater, basketballer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, golfer Jack Nicklaus plus boxers George Foreman and Bernard Hopkins are some of the more notable examples.

But Fletcher’s achievement is a truly incredible one – Slater never had to fight off Plugger Lockett for a wave, and Nicklaus never had his teeth knocked out lining up a putt.

In a sporting landscape that is always looking for the hottest young prospect, the reassuring presence of Fletch patrolling the Bombers back 50 is a reassuring sight.

Let’s hope he keeps going for as long as he can.