No matter which AFL club you support, it's hard not to admire Jarryn Geary.
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The Bendigo football product played his 200th AFL game on Sunday when St Kilda defeated Hawthorn by 14 points at Metricon Stadium.
Much like his approach to his entire AFL career, the St Kilda skipper took a no-fuss, team-first attitude to his milestone game.
No media street for interviews and no fanfare.
For Geary, all that matters is the team. Under pressure to maintain their position in the top eight, the Saints desperately needed to defeat the Hawks.
That selfless mindset didn't just evolve when Geary arrived at the Saints.
It was evident when he played junior footy for Eaglehawk in the BJFL and, in particular, during his time with the Bendigo Pioneers in the then TAC Cup.
In an elite junior pathway where so many individuals focus on the "end goal" of being drafted, Geary's aim was team success.
When he wasn't selected in the 2006 AFL National Draft there was no sulking. Instead he celebrated the fact his great mate Joel Selwood had been picked by the Cats and that his Pioneers' team-mates Daniel Connors and Andrew Collins were on their way to Punt Road to join Richmond.
When the rookie draft rolled around it took until pick 58 for Geary's name to be called by the Saints. It was the seventh-last pick of the draft.
More than 130 players across the two drafts had been selected before Geary.
History shows the Saints won the jackpot.
Read more: Geary excited about Saints' future
More often than not a selection that late in the rookie draft doesn't play 10 games at AFl level let alone 200 and become captain of the club.
"It was terrific that he was eventually picked in that rookie draft, but I have no doubt that he would have got there (to an AFL club) anyway,'' Geary's coach at the Bendigo Pioneers Mark Ellis said.
"Just the way Jarryn is... if he wasn't picked in the draft he would have picked himself up pretty quickly and found a way through another avenue.
"The Saints would be very happy that they picked him when they did."
The way Geary has forged a 14-year career comes as no surprise to Ellis.
The disappointment of being left out of the Saints grand final sides in 2009 and 2010 plus two serious leg injuries in recent years could have derailed Geary's time at the club, but it's only made him more determined to succeed.
Read more: Catch up on all the latest local footy news
"You're proud of all the guys that go on to the AFL whether they play one game or 300,'' Ellis said.
"In terms of Jarryn, the way he has gone about it has been impressive.
"It (an AFL career) hasn't changed him one bit and he's shown great resilience to get to where he is.
"The way he approaches things on and off the field and his leadership qualities...from a personal point of view you can't help but be proud of what he's achieved."
On Sunday, Geary leds the Saints into battle again.
He didn't have the most possessions for the Saints or kick the most goals.
However, when there was a hard ball to be won or a key tackle to be laid the number 14 for the Saints didn't let his team-mates down.
"He's always been about the team. There were times at the Pioneers when he was injured that he'd be at training talking to players and helping them out,'' Ellis said.
"It was just him. He would do anything for the team to ensure the team got better.
"He would always go out and try to make his team-mates better.
"That's the way Jarryn is. It was never about him. It says a lot for how well he was brought up."
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