DUSTIN Fletcher hasn't forgotten where he comes from because it continues to dictate where he is going.

The Essendon champion is in the middle of a record 23rd AFL season, and this round he will become just the third man to play 400 games.

Yet his extraordinary career is perhaps still being defined by fateful decisions made by wise heads during his youth.

Ironically - indeed remarkably - given his longevity at the highest level, Fletcher played relatively little football in his junior days. He turned out for just one season of club footy - at under-10 level.

It was the doing of his father Ken, who played 264 games for Essendon from 1967-80 (the Fletchers hold the record for the most appearances by a father-son combination), captained the club, represented Victoria and, of course, passed on the longevity gene to his eldest son.

A longtime schoolteacher who only retired from coaching school football last year at 66, Ken Fletcher made a conscious decision to limit Dustin to representing only Essendon Grammar School. From the age of 10 to 16, Dustin played a maximum of just 10 games a year. Sometimes it was only eight.

It's a lesson to other parents of sports-mad kids, and it has probably also helped extend Dustin's career.

"A lot of young players burn out a bit. I hate it when I see a 12-year-old running through a banner for his 50th game," Fletcher snr told the AFL Record.

"Football's a different game to tennis and basketball, or even soccer, because (in those sports) you're not getting the body contact.

"If you have too much overkill when you're young, and too many disappointments, maybe a lot of people don't make it because they haven't reached the right maturational stage."

Dustin, a 40-year-old father of two high school-aged boys, agreed.

"I've well and truly made up for that since (turning) 30-plus," Fletcher said with a grin. "I think that's helped a little bit.

"It's good that kids play a lot of sport, but when they're young it's just about enjoying it. One game a week's enough for most kids."

One sport the young Fletcher played a lot in that period was tennis. He was selected in a development squad with Mark Philippoussis and won three Victorian doubles titles with Chris Anstey, later an
NBA basketballer.

When asked to explain his many footballing virtues, Fletcher often refers back to his junior tennis career and its long-term benefits. He even credits the racquet sport with developing his most famous skill: his uncanny knack of spoiling an opponent when out of position.

"My tennis career has helped me in football, the way I play with my agility and pace," he said. "You've got to read (where) a lot of shots are going. Having a lot of that experience and (footy) smarts to read the play … you can position yourself where you can stop your opponent or you can get there first."

It also helps that Fletcher is a physical phenomenon, boasting exceptional speed and elasticity for his height. It has led to the nickname 'Inspector Gadget', which even got a run in the latest Toyota ad featuring his 1993 and 2000 premiership teammate Michael Long.

"It's a bit of a laugh," he said. "I've got long arms and long legs. I'm never going to be the biggest and strongest player, so you've got to use your arms and legs to advantage. That probably sums me up pretty well. 'Lanky' is another nickname that I've got, (which) I think Joe Misiti gave me quite a few years ago. It's pretty much spot on."

Misiti was one of Fletcher's best mates at Essendon. Natural attrition has led to a high turnover of Bomber buddies. "I've lost a few over time," Fletcher said, before adding he has always seemed to strike up good friendships with teammates, particularly his fellow backmen.

He's also developing a bond with fellow 400-gamers Michael Tuck (426 games for Hawthorn) and Kevin Bartlett (403 for Richmond). The trio recently had a chat over coffee.

"To only have two other people in there at the moment, yeah it's a pretty good feeling," Fletcher said. "They were pretty happy to see someone else get in the 400 club. I'm not sure there's any official 400 club, like there is with the 200 club (and) 300 club. They're a couple of really nice fellas."

Fletcher said Tuck's 24-year record wasn't under threat – not from him anyway. "It's a fair way off," he said. "Maybe (Brent) 'Boomer' Harvey (392 games) might be a chance."

The freakish Fletcher hasn't suffered the effects of ageing as most players do, particularly key-position types. He admits that over the past five or six years he "might have lost a yard of pace", but reveals his endurance has actually improved.

And we don't need him to tell us – even though he does anyway – that he hasn't lost any distance in his superb kicking.

Dustin Fletcher and Tim Watson after the 1993 Grand Final win. Picture: AFL Media

"It's more the recovery stuff that you've got to get your head around and make sure you do right, because if you don't … the six-day breaks and games where you've got to travel interstate creep up on you. You've just got to be smart with the way you manage your body."

Mentally, Fletcher has remained stimulated. He said his undiminished passion for the game, along with the daily camaraderie of the locker room and training track, and mixing with players half his age have in turn kept him young. (Amazingly, six players on the Bombers list weren't even born when he made his debut in 1993.)

The easy-going, unassuming Fletcher is proud to reach 400 games in "a pretty brutal and tough" sport, but it's easy to imagine others getting more of a thrill from the occasion.

"I never claimed to be the best footballer going around, but every week to try (to) do you best and beat your opponent and help out and win a game is something I've tried to do over so many years," he said.

"Your supporters and your family – and (wife) Suzie and the kids (Mason and Max) – are a huge part of that. Playing 400 games, it's thanking them in a way.

"You have a few ups in footy but you have just as big downs. The support (family) give you is something you really cherish. You hope you make them happy with what you do out on the footy field."

Fletcher has been at Essendon so long he has seen five former teammates become coaches – Tim Watson, Mark Thompson, Mark Harvey, Damien Hardwick and James Hird.

Among current teammates, he nominates Paul Chapman, Brendon Goddard and Jason Winderlich as those with the nous and potentially the desire to pursue coaching.

For some time Fletcher has virtually been a playing assistant coach, and when he eventually does retire, he'd like to become a development coach. "I like speaking to the younger guys and seeing them progress because I always think back to when I started," he said. "Those years between 17 and 21 are really big years."

In 1993, the father-son selection was subjected to perhaps the toughest initiation in League history.

The then 17-year-old, who stood 197cm and weighed just 81kg, started his career in the ruck, before coach Kevin Sheedy switched him to full-back. Fletcher had never played in the backline, yet suddenly was matched up against the best group of spearheads the game has seen, including superstars Tony Lockett, Jason Dunstall, Gary Ablett snr, Stephen Kernahan and Tony Modra.

Fletcher believes it accelerated his development and built the resilience that has proved so crucial to his career. And after 17 games he was a premiership player – the second-youngest full-back to play in a flag, and the youngest since 1909.

"It set me up pretty well," he said. "There were times at Waverley when I was playing on Jason Dunstall and it was pretty much just us two in the whole (forward) 50, and you've got blokes like Darren Jarman with their abilities to pretty much put it where he wants it. Getting through the first three or four years of my career when it was tough no doubt helped me for the rest of my career, because you find then you get into games and you feel more confident."

His youth, while seemingly a shortcoming, actually proved an advantage in the high-pressure role.

"I was still going to school when I started, so you probably didn't think about it as much," he said. "You had to go to school and do your work and do your exams. It might have scarred you a little bit, but 'Sheeds' was always a very positive person and he threw me in the deep end, like he did with a lot of blokes with the 'Baby Bombers'. (It's great) knowing someone's got the confidence in you."

And they still have.
This story appears in the round nine edition of the AFL Record, which is available at all grounds