JUDE Bolton has no right to become just the third Sydney Swans/South Melbourne footballer to reach the extraordinary 300-game milestone.
His head-first/safety-last instinct, in a team that often needed him to pay scant regard for his safety, suggested his would be a career cut short by significant injury.
But, somewhat appropriately, Bolton will play his 300th game on Friday night with his knee more or less held together by tape.
Bolton hyper-extended it in round 19, and it was widely thought he had suffered an eight-week injury, such was the damage to the ligaments. Of course, Bolton doesn't think like most people. He was back for round 23.
In the words of former teammate Barry Hall, Bolton "is a tough unit".
They don't hand out Brownlow Medals for courage, but if they did Bolton would have three of them.
Indeed, if you were building a footballer (you know, a touch of Franklin, a drop of Ablett, a splash of Pendlebury…), you would certainly be quick to find the Jude Bolton bottle of heart and give it a big squeeze.
Cam Mooney, the former Geelong forward who now commentates, recently said of Bolton: "He's one of the toughest guys I've ever come across," before recalling an occasion when ruckman Brad Ottens kneed Bolton in the face.
"It virtually knocked him out and he kept playing the whole game," Mooney said while shaking his head in disbelief.
This is the Bolton way.
Bolton will go down in the Swans' history books as an emblem of the born-again Bloods. His place in the drought-breaking 2005 premiership side makes certain of that.
And as a permanent testament to his bravery, he famously celebrated the Swans' 2005 premiership victory with a helmet covering his blonde locks.
Jude Bolton celebrates the Swans' 2005 premiership with the fans. Picture: AFL Media
That premiership would not only become player and club's greatest achievement in more than 70 years, but Bolton, his helmet, and teammate Brett Kirk, would symbolically represent what the team stood for: unpretentious, flint-hard warriors, undersized in finesse and pace, over endowed in passion.
Hall, the co-captain of that premiership team, was one of the most feared players in the game, and famous - or perhaps infamous - for fleeting moments of madness.
But even Hall is in awe of Bolton's uncompromising and fearless approach to football.
"He's mad. He'll crash straight back in and not even blink an eyelid. He's a tough unit," Hall recently said on Fox Footy's AFL 360.
"The players love him. They love the way he goes about it. Particularly going into a finals series, this is exactly the player you need in there. You rely on him week in, week out. Definitely a player you want in the finals.
And what makes Bolton special?
"I think he's tough … everyone knows that, but he's extremely professional as well. He's got a bit of everything."
Hall's sentiment was echoed by another former teammate, premiership hero Leo Barry.
"He's one of the hardest players I've ever played with and most players who play as physically as he does don’t survive the test of time," Barry told AFL.com.au.
"He's the epitome of durability and persistence.
"To get 300 games up is an amazing effort. He's such a resilient bloke and he's in career-best form at the moment. He's kicking goals, he's getting 40-odd touches, it's quite extraordinary."
Bolton has not only survived in the hottest spots of football's cauldron, he has lived through an evolving game and also survived a plot by the club to trade him.
Actually, plot is the wrong word. At the end of 2007, the club - then coached by Paul Roos - was aware it needed to trade for new talent to prevent a decline, and Bolton selflessly put up his hand.
A high draft pick (No.8 in 1998) and now premiership player, Bolton believed he had value on the open market that could have benefitted the club.
A deal was not done, however, and Bolton seemingly thrived.
While Bolton is universally respected for his uncompromising attack on the football, the assessment of 'career-best form' is also universally agreed.
Bolton set a new personal best for possessions this year, to follow the AFL tackle record he set in round three against West Coast in 2011. And that followed a contested-possessions record he set in 2010.
Roos took over the Swans coaching job for the latter half of 2002 and has watched Bolton play nearly his entire career at close range.
And the premiership coach said: " I reckon his last five years have probably been better than his [previous five] and they were at a really high standard, we're talking about premiership years.
"It is hard to put a finger on why but certainly this year and last year he's played a bit more forward so he's added goalkicking to his repertoire as well.
"But it does seem like he's playing as good, if not better than his first seven, eight or nine years of footy and as I said that was at a really high standard."
Bolton is not blessed with blistering speed, you do not need hyperbole to describe his skills and he does not own 'a big bag of tricks'.
But he is an obvious 'A-grader' in other aspects of the game. Playing through pain is one of them, which is why he has become the third fastest player to reach the 300 mark behind teammate Adam Goodes and Crows great Mark Ricciuto.
"To get to 300 you've got to be talented but as much as anything else they've got to be durable," Roos said.
"He has always been really durable, obviously, and he's tough, but it is hard to tell if they're going to get to that milestone.
"He's taken so many bumps and bruises along the way, to keep on going at the level he has, and at the intensity he has, has just been fantastic.
"I mean I don't think he's pulled out of a contest. Everyone says that everyone has done it at some point and maybe he has, but I can't remember him doing it."
PLAYERS TO REACH 300th GAME IN A FINAL
John Newman (Geelong), second semi-final, 1980
Gary Dempsey (North Melbourne), elimination final, 1982
Robert Harvey (St Kilda), preliminary final, 2004
Scott West (Western Bulldogs), first semi-final, 2006
Rohan Smith (Western Bulldogs), first semi-final, 2006
Adam Goodes (Sydney Swans), second semi-final, 2011
