But there have been times since the Magpie burst on to the scene with back-to-back premierships in 2007 and 2008 when the talented utility has found it difficult to keep his sense of humour.

Canny has been hit with virtually every injury in the book.

He’s strained or torn his hamstring five or six times, suffered a broken jaw, nose, finger and eye socket and injured his posterior cruciate ligament on two occasions.

It’s little wonder why Canny was on the receiving end of plenty of ribbing from his Wangaratta teammates this week as he prepared to play his 100th match against Lavington at Lavington Oval today.

“The boys have been giving me a bit of stick about breaking down at training and missing my 100th,” Canny said yesterday.

“It’s all good fun though.

“It’s good to get there as it’s taken a while.

“I guess it’s all a part of football.

“You have your good and bad times but you find a way to get through it.”

Canny isn’t about to call it a day on his Ovens and Murray career just yet.

He has been at Norm Minns Oval since he was 15 and is one of the elder statesmen at the Magpies these days along with the likes of Judd and Daine Porter, Jamie Allan, Matt Kelly and Justin Hoggan.

“I’ll be staying as long as I can,” he said.

“It’s hard to imagine being anywhere else.

“The boys are all good and, even though it’s been a bit of a battle this year, I love being around the place.”

Canny hasn’t written off 2015 yet either. Despite being 0-3 heading into today’s clash against Lavington, Canny believes a win is just around the corner for the Magpies under new coach Brendan Cairns.

“‘Cairnsy’ has been great,” he said.

“He’s a well-known and respected person around the club and, while it’s a tough gig to step into, he has a lot of support behind him.

“David Steer has come back to help our young backline and that can only help.

“At the moment we’re really getting back to the basics by applying pressure, tackling and trying to get those things right.”