Luke Parker and Isaac Smith will make their 50th appearances in the Ultimate Keeper League this weekend.
They are the first players to reach the milestone in competition history.
Parker, who was selected with pick 25 in the 2016 start-up draft, has played all 49 games with Rico’s Roughnecks. He’s scored 4928 points in that time, at an average of 100.57
Smith was drafted at pick 88 by the Puttanesca Chiefs. He has represented 3 clubs at an average of 92.94.
After playing his first 11 games for the Chiefs, he was traded to the Roughnecks, where he played his next 29 games.
Despite a strong showing during the Roughnecks 2017 finals campaign, he was overlooked on keeper deadline day. He promptly found a new home at Such is Fyfe, who drafted him with the fourth selection in the 2018 pre-season draft.
Isaac Smith club breakdown
| Games Played | Avg Points | |
| Puttanesca Chiefs | 11 | 90 |
| Rico’s Roughnecks | 29 | 92.68 |
| Such is Fyfe | 9 | 97.33 |
When approached for comment, coach McClaren said he was delighted coach Ritchie opted not to keep Smith on his list.
“Kept Nic Newman. Dropped Smith,” remarked McClaren.
“What an idiot. Did he not realise points scored in the NEAFL don’t count toward his weekly total?
“Anyway Smith is in career best form – as far as the keeper league goes. He’s playing a valuable role in our quest to be the highest scoring wooden spooners in league history”.
Coach Ritchie declined to be interviewed for the story. In a written statement, he noted Parker hadn’t hit the heights of his debut season, but conceded he was doing much better than Dan Hannebery.