As Crows defender Rory Laird made his way off Adelaide Oval and into the changerooms after his 250th game, his Dad, Dean, beamed with pride.

Having been there for the ultimate highs, as well as the lows of his son’s footy career, Dean knows first-hand the hard work that his son put in to reach the milestone.

Holding back tears as he spoke exclusively to AFC Media post-game, Dean said he was in awe of Laird’s achievements to date, which included two All-Australian blazers, three Club Champion awards and now, 250 AFL games.

“It’s very hard to put into words,” Dean said.

“I am super proud. He loves the Club, he loves his teammates, his family, it’s just been a great day.

“He might seem on the outside like a pretty quiet sort of fello, but he’s very, very dedicated, he’s focused and very methodical in terms of prep and analysing the game.

“As his father, I see that in his daily life, too, and how he carries himself as a human.”

Laird, meanwhile, said he was more tense than normal leading up to his 250th, given the occasion.

“I was pretty nervous, to be honest, having a lot of family and friends here,” he said.

“But the guys played really well and looked after me today.

“The Club is pretty much everything to me. I’ve been here for 14 years, they gave me a chance as a 17-year-old kid and here I am at 31 and loving every minute here.”

The day was capped off with teammates Taylor Walker and Brodie Smith chairing him off after the win.

“It was really nice, they said some nice words in the rooms pre-game, which is a bit unusual for them, so it was lovely,” Laird said.

“I felt the love a lot this week but it was most important to get the win.

“It was a little bit different from the past two weeks that we’ve won. North Melbourne played really well, so for us to go out and execute like that was great.

“It shows a lot of maturity and growth for this group, which is fantastic.”