THE FAMOUS Viney name is set to join an exclusive club of six this weekend when Jack plays his 200th game for Melbourne.
Viney's milestone, against Port Adelaide on Saturday night, will come almost 26 years to the day since his father Todd, who is now the GM of Football at North Melbourne, also celebrated 200 games for the Demons.
The Vineys will become just the sixth father-son pairing in the game's history to play 200 games for the same club.
Carlton legends Sergio and Stephen Silvagni were the first to achieve the feat when Stephen played his 200th game in 1996, matching his famous father in Blues colours.
Two famous Essendon families were the next to do it - Dustin Fletcher joined his father Ken on 200 games in 2003 before Jobe Watson played his 200th for the Bombers in 2015, matching father Tim.
Gary Ablett jnr reached 200 games for Geelong in 2018 at the start of his second stint at the Cats, following in his father Gary snr's footsteps, before Tom Liberatore joined his father Tony on 200 games for Footscray/Western Bulldogs last year.
Jack Viney reflected this week that for a brief moment in his draft year in 2011, there was some media speculation that he wouldn't actually end up at the club his father played for.
"There was some talk back in the day when Dad was coaching at the Crows and I was playing over there for North Adelaide and playing some state footy," he remembered on SEN.
"I don't know if it was actually possible (and) how it would've eventuated, but there was an article written in the paper over there about the Crows having some interest in me. And it did create a bit of a buzz and stir things up a little bit for a week or two in Adelaide.
"But it was never really a viable option. I was always coming to the Dees."
Viney jnr has now set his sights on playing another 34 games to move past his father's career tally of 233.
"It's been a good 200 so far ... I'm still trying to catch the old man, but it's just terrific to build on the legacy that my Dad created at the footy club."
But it wasn't always smooth sailing for the 29-year-old, who was drafted in 2012, when the Demons were in the doldrums.
They won only two games in his first season, four in the second and did not record a positive win-loss tally until 2017 - when Simon Goodwin had taken the reins from Paul Roos.
Throughout that period, Viney was integral in Melbourne's climb back to relevance and, eventually, into premiership contention.
"He's everything that we want from a 'Demons Spirit' perspective," Goodwin said.
"When Jack came to the club, we needed a group of players that were highly competitive, and he just led the charge on that.
"He's probably the most competitive person I've met, he typifies everything we want, and he's helped grow this club significantly in the last 10 years."
Viney was Melbourne's 2016 best-and-fairest winner and captain from 2017-19, but is "potentially in some areas" still under-rated outside the club.
"If you watch him closely and what he does for our team, the way that he plays, he's an elite player of the competition," Goodwin said.
"In terms of helping shape our culture and shape the way we're seen as a footy club, he's had as much impact as anyone.
"He's driven standards to an incredibly high level with the way he trains and competes, and that's what we want as a footy club."
- with AAP
