"It could not have panned out any better," said Birchall. "I’m just very lucky, as I always enjoy playing in front of friends and family down there."

Lucky is a word Birchall uses when describing the good things that have happened in his career to date. When asked about playing in the 2008 premiership, aged just 20, in his 65th game (his 60th in succession) he put the experience down to good fortune.

"I feel very, very lucky, particularly when you look at guys like Robert Harvey (the former St Kilda champion played 383 games without a flag) who played so much footy but was unable to get that flag. I felt pretty lucky and a little bit embarrassed I suppose."

Embarrassed? That's not a word you hear from footballers that often. 

"You just realise how much those guys have put in, and that is what they play footy for. And then there is a young bloke who comes in and plays 60-odd games and gets one - so I feel pretty lucky."

Birchall was a Saints fan growing up in Shearwater in Devonport, and Harvey was his favourite player. As circumstances would have it, Birchall played in Harvey's last game for the Saints, the 2008 preliminary final.

Such imaginings were far from Birchall's mind when the talented junior basketballer stopped playing football for one season, preferring the hoops. He was young and it was a short departure from the game he has made his name in.

"It came to a time where I had to make a pretty tough decision whether to play basketball or footy and I chose footy. I think it has worked out pretty well so far."

He was playing in the Devonport seniors in round one of 2004, aged just 16. He played there for two seasons, part of two losing grand final teams.

Read the fully story in the round 16 edition of the AFL Record, available at all grounds.