JOSH Piddington can rattle off details about his first NPL game like it was yesterday.
"I was 17 and came off the bench for Broadmeadow in a derby against Olympic at Magic Park," he said
"There were a couple of Austin brothers on the field for Olympic and they proceeded to kick me up and down it for about 30 minutes.
"I remember coming off that ground and thinking, 'oh man, I love that'."
That was in 2005.
Incredibly, Piddington, now 39, will line up for a record 450th NPL game when Lambton Jaffas take on Belmont Swansea at Blacksmiths Oval on Saturday.
It's a milestone unlikely to be repeated.
The centreback has played the bulk of his career at Broadmeadow (345 games) before landing at Lambton, New Lambton and a second stint at Jaffas.
After two seasons and 40 games at New Lambton, Piddington stepped away at the start of the year and switched focus to triathlons.
But the lure of 450 games and a return to Jaffas proved too strong.
"I was seven games away from the 450 and it started playing on my mind that I wouldn't get there," Piddington said. "I was at a Jaffas-Magic game early in the season and Magic gave Jaffas a bit of a hiding.
"It hit me hard and sparked a bit of fire in the belly. It was coming up to the mid-season transfer window and I had a chat to Lambton [football manager] Chris Sneddon. We agreed that my experience and skill could be helpful.
"It was also a challenge for me to prove that I was still up to it.
"Obviously coming into a strong team at Jaffas, I had to bide my time. I had a few games off the bench and things like that.
"I'm especially grateful to the Jaffas for giving me the opportunity to come back and have a crack at it.
"Come Saturday, I think I will feel relieved more than anything.
"I'll be there with my family. My mum and dad rarely miss a game. It will be a lovely moment for us."
Piddington hasn't just played a lot of games, he is a serial winner.
His 15 seasons as Magic featured six grand final wins and three premierships. He added another two championships and a premiership at Jaffas.
"Early in my career, I probably measured my success by how many medals and trophies I had won," Piddington said. "As you get older, you start gauging your success more on how you contribute to your team and environment."
Jaffas coach Dave Tanchevski rates Piddington as one of the fittest players and biggest competitors he has encountered.
"He's 39 and if he doesn't play a full game, he's there after the game, doing extra sprints up and down," Tanchevski said. "If he doesn't get enough at training, he'll stay back and do a bit more.
"Piddo has always been a motivator and a leader of men.
"He's definitely got that winning mentality.
"Late in games, he takes himself up the park and scores winners and equalisers for teams.
"He has done it against us. He's done it with us. He's just a guy who can make things happen.
"He is very strong in the air. When you are coaching him, you can rely on him to clean up freekicks and corners. When you are coaching against him, you are worried about him coming forward and being a threat.
"He never gives up and plays until the final whistle blows. He is the ultimate competitor.
"That rubs off on his teammates."
Piddington credits his longevity to his fitness regime.
"I have a gym at home and I've got six other guys that turn up at 4.30am every morning and we get our work in there," Piddington said. "Most of us are dads now, so we get up and get it done before our responsibilities take us elsewhere."
As well as playing, Piddington coaches the New Lambton teams his daughter Ruby, 8, and son Wyatt, 6, play for.
They will be central to his decision regarding playing on next season and striving for 500 games.
"If anything, the last couple of weeks of playing more minutes and getting more games under my belt has probably only re-energised me," he said.
"I've always been willing to do some extra work away from the training ground to keep fit and healthy and strong in that sense.
"If that means that I can still keep going at the highest level that I've ever been at, great. As they say, you're a long time retired. So, if someone's willing to have me, I'm willing to compete.
"There might be responsibilities outside of football that take me away from that."
