In the history of AFL football, 3,622 players have reached the 50 game milestone. But none of them can match Cats premiership midfielder Travis Varcoe's success rate.
Varcoe has been on the winning side in 50 of his 56 AFL games, a win rate of 89.3%. Varcoe’s only losses have come in his third game (against North Melbourne), his 17th game (against Port Adelaide), his 19th game (against Collingwood), his 34th game (against Hawthorn), his 48th game (against St Kilda) and his 52nd game (against Carlton).
Last season’s grand final win marked the 50th time Varcoe had joined his mates in the post-game theme song circle.
To put Varcoe’s success in perspective, compare his record to former Cat Kent Kingsley’s time at Skilled Stadium. Kingsley played in up and coming teams that were ultimately the core of the recent premiership years. He played 110 games in the navy & white hoops, almost double the number that Varcoe has played. Kingsley found himself on the winning team 53 times.
That’s not a knock on Kingsley who helped the Cats to the finals twice. It simply demonstrates the amazing winning run Varcoe has enjoyed.
Incredibly, Varcoe’s team mate Joel Selwood has the second highest winning rate among players with at least 50 games experience. Selwood has tasted success in 62 of 70 games, an 88.6% mark.
Varcoe and Selwood have teamed together to produce 47 wins over the past three years.
Hopefully the skilful pair will keep their amazing streaks intact and propel the Cats to more wins in the coming years.