This weekend the 28-year-old, who grew up in Yarrawonga in north-east Victoria, will notch another one when he plays his 100th game for the Cats against Carlton on Saturday night.
"I'm really proud of the achievement, but there's a lot of the season to go, so I don't want to focus on it too much," Lonergan told AFL.com.au.
"It's one of those things I'll be much more proud of when I've finished playing.
"But my folks will come down and my brothers and sisters, and a few people from Yarrawonga will probably pop down for a look."
Lonergan's career seemed over after he was seriously injured in a collision with Melbourne's Brad Miller during a game at Simonds Stadium in 2006.
He spent four days in an induced coma and lost a kidney as a result of the accident.
"I've got some really close mates who were right there in the thick of it when I got hurt, and I guess it will be great to run out alongside them on the weekend," Lonergan said.
"The whole club has been fantastic to me over the journey."
Selected by the Cats in the 2002 draft, Lonergan was playing just his seventh game when he collided with Miller.
But he refused to give up on his dream of making the grade in the AFL and returned to competitive action in the second half of the 2007 VFL season.
A couple of months later he captured the hearts and mind of the footy public when he kicked six goals in a best on ground performance in Geelong's VFL Grand Final win over Coburg.
That performance earned him a promotion back to the Cats' senior list for 2008, but it wasn't until 2011, when he was reinvented as a defender, that his career really took off.
Boasting great reach and closing speed, he became a key member of Geelong's defence, earning his stripes alongside Harry Taylor and Matthew Scarlett.
"Once I made the decision to come back to footy, I really wanted to be a consistent player and consolidate my position in the team," Lonergan said.
"I wanted to be like Matthew Scarlett, Tom Harley and Darren Milburn and the other great defenders that have played for the club in the last few years."
Lonergan made a name for himself when he shut down Collingwood star Travis Cloke in the 2011 Grand Final, earning plenty of praise and a premiership medal in the process.
He cemented his reputation last season, missing only one game and keeping quiet some of the best power forwards in the game.
"I think he's one of the outstanding defenders in the competition," Geelong coach Chris Scott said on Tuesday.
"I think he deserved his place in the All Australian 40 (man squad) last year, and that's the level of performance we expect from him week in week out."
Lonergan's form has been strong again this season. He played well on Hawthorn's Lance Franklin when the Cats beat the Hawks in round one, and he held his own when Geelong made it two from two last weekend.
"We are really proud of what Tom's been through, and I've only seen the tail end of that," Scott added.
"The players that know Tom really well marvel at the way he's come back so courageously from a horrific injury and the way he plays so fearlessly.
"I think it probably galvanises the group a bit more when Tom ticks off a milestone like that, but I would regard it as a small milestone for Tom.
"He's got bigger fish to fry."
Adam McNicol covers Geelong news for AFL.com.au. Follow him on Twitter at @AFL_AdamMcNicol
