Nick Blakey has recounted more than once that when he takes off on a trademark run from defence he has ‘no idea’ where he’s going or what he’s going to do next. Which is why in part he’ll grab an obscure place in the club record books with his 100^th game this weekend.

Giving new lease to the largely forgotten AFL statistic of the ‘running bounce’, Blakey has had 116 career bounces in his first 99 games.

Since running bounce stats were introduced to the AFL in 1999, only two players in Swans history have had more at the 100-game mark.

Rhyce Shaw, a 94-game player at Collingwood before joining Sydney, had a whopping 441 bounces in his first 100 games in red and white. And Leo Barry, whose first 32 games were played before bounce stats were kept, had 174 in his next 100 games.

Already Blakey is 15^th all-time for the club in total running bounces behind Shaw (484), Barry (415), Tadhg Kennelly (259), Nick Malceski (254), Adam Goodes (214), Stuart Maxfield (207), Craig Bolton (184), Lewis Jetta (174), Marty Mattner (147), Heath Grundy (126), Nic Fosdike (125), Amon Buchanan (120), Jared Crouch (119), and Paul Williams (117).

And on a per-game average among players to play at least 10 games he ranks seventh all-time. It’s an extraordinary result for a player originally drafted as “a gifted and mobile forward capable of playing through the midfield”, as noted in the 2019 AFL Guide.

Blakey’s 116 running bounces since his debut in Round 1, 2019 is a club high – easily. Jake Lloyd (57), Ollie Florent (54) and Tom Papley (52) are next best – not even half as many as the ‘Lizard’.

In the AFL this year Blakey’s 48 running bounces is second only to Essendon’s Andrew McGrath (66) and ahead of Richmond’s Daniel Rioli (43) and Carlton’s Adam Saad (43).

And while the dash and dare of the 23-year-old tearaway might not always be good for the blood pressure of coach John Longmire, it’s part of a huge double bonus for the Swans since Blakey answered the AFL’s hottest question on 1 May 2018 – where would he play?

A graduate of the East Sydney Bulldogs Auskick program, he had the luxury of picking between three AFL clubs – Brisbane or North Melbourne as a father/son selection after his father John played 135 games for Fitzroy (which qualify him for Brisbane via the merger with Fitzroy) and 224 games for North, or Sydney as a member of the QBE Sydney Swans Academy.

So he’s a pseudo father/son choice, having been pitch-forked into red and white at his third home. Born in Melbourne, he moved to Brisbane at two when his father joined the Lions coaching staff, and made his home in Sydney at six when his father joined the Swans coaching staff in 2007.

He was even a bonus in the AFL Draft, when, after being tipped to go as high as top three, he slipped through to pick #10, which meant the ‘price’ paid by the Swans in terms of draft points was much less than anticipated.

It was a hot draft, headed by #1 Sam Walsh (Carlton), #2 Jack Lukosius (Gold Coast), #3 Izak Rankine (Gold Coast/Adelaide)), #4 Max King (St Kilda), #4 Connor Rozee (Port Adelaide), #6 Ben King (Gold Coast), #7 Bailey Smith (Western Bulldogs), #8 Tarryn Thomas (North Melbourne), #9 Chayce Jones (Adelaide), #10 Blakey, #11 Jy Caldwell (GWS/Essendon), #12 Zak Butters (Port) and #13 Isaac Quaynor (Collingwood).

Among 97 first-time draftees in 2018 Blakey will be the fifth to 100 games. Oddly, the list is headed by two ex-rookies – St Kilda’s Callum Wilki, rookie pick #3, has played 106 games, and Geelong’s Tom Atkins, rookie pick #1, has played 103 games. Rozee and Smith have played 102 games.

It’s been a bumper draft for the Swans, with pick #25 James Rowbottom at 90 games and #44 Justin McInerney at 71 games. Only three players from the 2018 draft have played in a grand final – Blakey, Rowbottom and McInerney.

Blakey, set to play his 100^th against Adelaide at the Adelaide Oval on Saturday night, has missed only eight games since his debut in Round 1, 2019 – six in 2021. Only Luke Parker (107), Ollie Florent (107) and Jake Lloyd (105) have played more in the same period.

Blakey will be the 141^st Swans player among a total of 1448 to reach 100 games, and the 15^th youngest at 23 years 173 days.

Youngest all-time was Mark Bayes at 22 years 170, while others younger than Blakey among the current group were Luke Parker (22/287), Heeney (23/97), and Tom McCartin (23/120).

Blakey will be 10 days younger than ex-captain Mark Browning, 12 days younger than the legendary Bob Skilton, and 40 days younger than teammate Will Hayward.

The rangy left-footer will be the fourth Swan to play 100 games in jumper #22 behind Jason Saddington (142), Jack Graham (132) and Keith Schaefer (102). Graham, the 1944 club champion, switched from #22 to #27 for his last 95 games.