COURAGEOUS utility Brad Green is hoping for career longevity so he can experience the resurgence that Melbourne is building towards.

Ahead of his 200th AFL match against Collingwood on Saturday, the 29-year-old said he had a desire to play into his mid-30s.

"I know my body's sound and I want to keep playing for another four or five years. Touch wood I don't get any soft-tissue injuries and if I do break down, I break bones," Green told melbournefc.com.au.

"I want to be there when Melbourne is up there again."

A member of the Demons' seven-man leadership group, Green has often been touted as a future captain but now has a pragmatic view of the position.

"If the captaincy comes my way, I'll take it with two hands and hopefully we're developing a strong leadership group underneath us," he said.

"Potential players are Jack Grimes and Aaron Davey - they're in the core age for a captain to grow in the role.

"At my age, I'm probably getting to the end of the captaincy material, but certainly as a leader around the place I won't shirk an issue."

Green set an on-field example despite initially appearing to suffer a serious neck injury in Melbourne's round-one loss to Hawthorn.

He said he could hardly recall the incident where he contested a ground ball, only to collide with Hawk debutant Jarrod Kayler-Thomson.

"It didn't look too good. It's a little bit stiff, but apart from that it's fine," he said.

"I saw the replay of it on Monday. I can remember waking up in the changerooms - that's all I can really remember of it.

"The doc said, 'Watch the second quarter and we'll try and get you out there in the second half'. I said, 'Doc, I'm ready' and I just wanted to get out there and I was egging him on. I got about two or three minutes left in the second quarter and then played the second half."

Recruited from the Tassie Mariners at No.19 in the 1999 national draft, Green quickly made his mark for the Demons.

In a qualifying final against Carlton at the MCG in 2000, Green booted four goals as Melbourne's best performer.

He said that match, along with the elimination final win over St Kilda in 2006 and victories over Fremantle and the Brisbane Lions in 2007, were among the highlights of his career to date.

"I debuted in round two, 2000 and the irony is that it's round two 2010 for my 200, so it's quite amazing how it's worked out that way," he said.

"I still get nervous and I feel the pressure, but I thrive on that too. I like having pressure and I like having excitement about trying to perform well."

Green said he was looking forward to having family and friends travel from the Apple Isle to celebrate his milestone with him.

"Probably half of Tasmania is coming over. My wife is also two weeks away from having a baby, so we're all excited around the family. Away from footy, things are going great," he said.

"I don't know if the father-son rule is going to come into play yet, but hopefully either way we get a keen daughter who is a Melbourne fan or a keen guy who might be able to run out wearing the red and blue."

Brad Green is a $379,700 midfielder in this year's Toyota AFL Dream Team.