Lavington's John Hunt reflects on 400 games, including no pay rises

Hunt will become just the second player in the league's 126-year history to reach the mark when he lines up in the season opener against North Albury at Lavington Sportsground on Saturday.

The 39-year-old started his career in 1997 but despite being a two-time premiership player, including a best and fairest in the 2001 flag, he's never been hounded by country clubs as so many fine O and M players are.

"Honestly no, not really. I did speak to one or two clubs and there was a time when (former team-mate Marc Almond) 'Almo' was coaching Howlong and I considered that, but there was never money spoken, I never pushed it that far to get in negotiations and talk money," he said.

"Football's never been about money, I haven't had a pay increase for 19-20 years."

A player like the pacy Hunt, who's also capable of kicking goals, could have at least quadrupled his pay at a district outfit.

I did speak to one or two clubs and there was a time when (former team-mate Marc Almond) 'Almo' was coaching Howlong and I considered that, but there was never money spoken, I never pushed it that far to get in negotiations and talk money. Football's never been about money, I haven't had a pay increase for 19-20 years.

John Hunt

Interestingly, Lavington was known as a big-spending club for much of the 1980s and 90s, but changed its philosophy around the time of Hunt's rise to senior ranks.

"At Lavington, it's about the culture of the club, you could probably ask a few of the new guys about how welcoming the club is," he said.

"You walk in and you're made to feel like you've been there 10 years.

"There's no groups, it doesn't matter if you're 18 or 39, you're included in all conversations, if somebody's organising something, everybody's invited."

When Hunt debuted as a 68-kilogram schoolboy wingman, his game was based on his blistering acceleration.

It was 'Road Runner' like, burning off his bigger opponents.

But an Achilles problem some years ago and a knee complaint in 2017 have, naturally, robbed some of that blinding pace, so he's had to change his game.

"I guess it comes with some positional changes as well after mainly playing on the wing most of my footy career," Hunt said.

"There was pace and also endurance, so I could play on the wing without rotation, no problems at all.

"Now I've moved to the backline or forward as well and with rotations through the midfield, I can still play on the wing, but it's just not for as long."

Hunt has also been largely injury-free.

He racked up a remarkable 182 straight games at one stage, before the removal of his appendix stopped the almost decade-long streak.

Hunt also played just three games in 2017 with a knee complaint and pondered whether his time was up.

"I probably was literally on my last leg," he laughed.

"It had crossed my mind and I've thought about it numerous times over the last five or six years and then pre-season rolls around again and you think, 'well, what am I going to do', so you go to training.

"The other thing I would probably pursue is running, but with a couple of dodgy knees and a dodgy Achilles, that's difficult."

Hunt's knee hasn't deteriorated to the extent where it's bone-on-bone, but there's certainly cartilage damage.

A number of players can't give the game away because they're "footy heads", dominating their life, but Hunt says he's "definitely not" like that.

"I still love the competitive side of footy," he said.

"I enjoy being around the guys not only on Saturday, but also at training, it's a bit of an escape from work life, which is constantly busy and as long as I'm still enjoying it, I'll keep playing.

"There's always family pressure with kids, that work pressure, so for two hours on a Saturday, you can forget about everything else and concentrate on a red ball.

"It's definitely an honour to play 400 games, it's a bit of a strange feeling.

"I didn't think I'd get this far in my football career, but I'm very excited and have tried to embrace it more than anything.

"I think it's the first real milestone game at home.

"I remember 300 was at Yarrawonga, I played on Kayne Pettifer and he kicked four goals in the first 15 minutes, that made my day."

Did he think that was a sign that his days were over?

"No, I wasn't happy with the coaching committee for putting me on him," he laughed.

Once North is out of the way, Hunt could potentially pass Matt Allen's league record 416 games in the final round.

• Receive our daily newsletter straight to your inbox each morning from The Border Mail. Sign up here