It has taken an extra four years, but Demons player Mitch Frail will finally run out for his 100th senior game when Eastlake take on Ainslie on Saturday.
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The 30-year-old is the first to admit that joining the "100 Club" should have taken him five years instead of nine, having played 40 games during his first two and a half years in Canberra.
But the Eastlake star has had to battle injury after injury just to keep on playing with his team.
"Yes I've had a few. So I had a few cracked vertebrae in my back. And two of the major [injuries] are that I ruptured, of the 16 ligaments in your ankles - I think you've got eight in each ankle - I've either ruptured or torn fifteen of them, in separate incidents. So that caused me to miss a fair bit of time," Frail said
Frail credits the club for supporting him during the tough times and is excited to be sharing his milestone game with fellow 100-club inductee and teammate Alex Wilson.
"I remember watching him run out in the under-16/17s and he's a really good fella. He's in our leadership group, he's Eastlake through and through so it's good to share it with him," he said.
Demons head coach Pete McGrath praised both players, saying they were an integral part of the club.
"He's a terrific player Mitch, and he's one of the best players in the competition and he's going to make a great coach one day," McGrath said.
"Alex has developed into one of the best defenders in the ACT. He does the job week in and week out and he's a very well-respected and well-liked teammate and it's a credit to him in getting to his hundred early in his career."
Eastlake take on Ainslie at Alan Ray Oval, and Frail knows the team will have to be at their best to get the win.
"They are always tough. Obviously having won three in a row, they are always going to be a tough side no matter what. They are big and strong and use the ball quite well so we're going to have to work hard to try and beat them."
Queanbeyan Tigers player Paul Slater will also play his 100th game when the Tigers clash with the Magpies on Sunday.
AFL Canberra First Grade Men's
Saturday: Ainslie Tricolours v Eastlake Demons at Alan Ray Oval, 1.15pm; Tuggeranong Hawks v Gungahlin Jets at Greenway Oval, 1.15pm.
Sunday: Queanbeyan Tigers v Belconnen Magpies at Allinsure Park, 1.15pm
