Deledio will be 24 years and 139 days old on Sunday, which means he will eclipse Matthew Knights as the youngest Tiger to play 150 games of league football. Knights was 24 years and 332 days old when he attained the milestone in 1995.
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He also will become the fastest to reach the 150-game milestone in Richmond’s history, at six years, 161 days.
To underline his amazing durability, Deledio has missed just four games since making his senior league debut with Richmond at 17 years and 343 days of age in the opening round of the 2005 season, after being selected by the Tigers as the No. 1 draft pick in the AFL’s 2004 National Draft.
He has played the last 92 games in-a-row, placing him second, behind Carlton’s Kade Simpson (141 games), on the competition’s current consecutive games’ list. ‘Lids’ hasn’t missed a game since Round 18 of the 2007 season.
Deledio’s durability has been matched by his form consistency in seven seasons at the game’s highest level.
In his 2005 debut season, Lids won the AFL’s Rising Star award and then, in 2008-09, he captured consecutive Jack Dyer Medals as the Tigers’ Best and Fairest winner in those years. Last year, he finished third in the Jack Dyer Medal count, and he’s on track for another high Best and Fairest finish in 2011 following a season where he has averaged 25.7 disposals per game - the highest in his league career.
Deledio’s 150-game achievement means he now qualifies for Life Membership of the Club.
The top 10 list of young Tigers to reach the 150-game milestone is:
Brett Deledio: 24 years, 139 days
Matthew Knights: 24 years, 332 days
Bryan Wood: 25 years, 116 days
Kevin Bartlett: 25 years, 152 days
Wayne Campbell: 25 years, 249 days
Joel Bowden: 25 years, 279 days
Dale Weightman: 25 years, 304 days
Ray Poulter: 26 years, 121 days
David Cloke: 26 years, 199 days
Kevin Sheedy: 26 years, 208 daysblog comments powered by Disqus
