It wouldn’t be a milestone game without a chairing off and Sam Jacobs has revealed the two teammates given the honours following his 200th AFL game on Saturday afternoon.
The 200cm, 102kg ruckman initially asked his co-captain Rory Sloane and fellow former Blues Bryce Gibbs and Eddie Betts before it was narrowed down to just two.
“There’s three I’m going to - B. Gibbs, R. Sloane and E. Betts,” Sauce told Triple M’s The Rush Hour.
“Three fantastic guys who have had a big impact on my career.
“Eddie bravely stood up and courageously said ‘thank you, but I’ll be the one to step down’ and allow the other two boys the opportunity.
“I think it’ll still test them out.”
There will be no shortage of Jacobs fans at Adelaide Oval, with the 31-year-old revealing he had to request 45 tickets from the Club for his loved ones.
“I’ve got 45 coming - it’s a massive game and the Club has been fantastic to accommodate that,” Jacobs said.
“They’ve squeezed us all in so it’s going to be a really special night.”
The three-time Showdown medallist from Ardrossan reaches 200 AFL games tomorrow. Hopefully we can make the occasion sweeter with a W for @samjacobs24 #weflyasone pic.twitter.com/xeR3pXfhn1
— Adelaide Crows (@Adelaide_FC) August 16, 2019
As he prepares to celebrate his milestone, Jacobs admitted there were times this season he thought he may never get there.
He returned from a knee injury in the reserves nine weeks ago, the veteran was kept in the SANFL as Reilly O’Brien assumed the No.1 ruck position.
“Yeah, absolutely (I worried about it),” Jacobs said.
“I’ve played eight SANFL games and particularly through the middle of that Reilly’s form was really strong.
“It means a lot to me to play at home, it’s worked out really well in the end but there were some challenging times in there.”
To make it even sweeter, he’ll get to share his 200th with O’Brien as they play senior footy together for the first time.
PYKE'S TAKE: The coach explains his dual-ruck decision
With Collingwood star Brodie Grundy coming to town, Pyke opted to select two ruckmen to face the Magpies.
“We’re really excited about it, me and Reilly,” Jacobs said.
“Obviously we work so closely together and get pitted against each other so much.
“We’re really enthused to play together and take on someone as good as Brodie - he’s a really important player to Collingwood’s success.”
For the kid from Ardrossan, the impressive milestone is something he’s still wrapping his head around.
“It’s a bit humbling and overwhelming at times - it hasn’t sort of sunk in yet,” Jacobs said.
“As a country kid, I only came for one game and here I am at 200, it really does blow my mind.”
He even named his top three highlights:
- Hit-outs to Sloaney at Adelaide Oval
- Playing in a GF in obviously something special
- The people. That’s what means the most to me, the people you get to meet and play with
Adelaide will host Collingwood at Adelaide Oval on Saturday from 4.05pm ACST.