Dustin Fletcher Is Now Only The Second Player To Play AFL Football At Age 40

Today is May the 7th, which just so happens to be Essendon defender Dustin Fletcher‘s birthday.

Ordinarily the birthday’s of sportspeople, public figures, celebrities or otherwise tend to pass without much notability or fanfare. But today is different, as it marks Fletcher’s FORTIETH birthday.
The evergreen, wiry backline general now becomes only the second player in the entire combined history of the AFL/VFL to play top-tier football beyond the age of 40.
Even more remarkable is the fact that he’s the first person to do it in 95 years. The only other person to have played at an older age was a fellow beanpole by the name of Vic Cumberland, who made a post World War I comeback to strap on the boots for St Kilda for the 1920 season, playing his last game at the age of 43 years and 50 days old.
Selected by Essendon via the AFL’s Father/Son Rule in the 1992 draft, Fletcher made his debut for the club on the 3rd of April, 1993 at the MCG against Carlton.
To put that in perspective, there are 316 – repeat THREE HUNDRED AND SIXTEEN – active players currently listed on AFL team squads who were born AFTER Fletch had played in his first game. 316 players out of 819 AFL listed players in total. 38.6% of the entire league was born after Dustin Fletcher debuted. Unreal.
Fletcher has built a first ballot Hall of Fame career around his shut-down defensive abilities…
…Inspector Gadget-like limbs…
…and in particular his ability to launch booming torps.

Pending team announcement, Fletcher will lineup with the Bombers this coming Saturday night to take on the undefeated Fremantle Dockers in Perth. The game will be the 398th AFL appearance in his long, illustrious career that has seen him play in the two most recent Essendon premiership sides (in 2000, and in 1993).
All things being equal, Fletcher is on track to reach the mythical 400 career game milestone on Sunday, May 24th when the Bombers clash with the Brisbane Lions in their round 8 game at Etihad Stadium. He’ll be the third man in the history of the game to reach that mark, behind Michael Tuck and Kevin Bartlett.
Cheers, Fletch! You absolute legend.
Photo: Michael Dodge via Getty Images.

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