TOM LYNCH had been on a boat for long enough.

It was the sixth time Lynch had been fishing with his good friend and former Adelaide teammate Patrick Dangerfield, and it was the sixth time neither had caught a fish. Superstar footballer? Yes. But someone capable of running their own fishing show? Not a chance.

"He's got a fishing show. I can't get that out of my mind," a bemused Lynch told AFL.com.au.

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"No matter how much great footy he's played in his career, I just cannot get it out of my mind that he can't fish. I've been out on the boat with him half a dozen times and it's only half a dozen because after the sixth time I said, 'that's enough'."

Fortunately, as Dangerfield prepares for game No.300 this weekend, fishing still takes a back seat to his football. Now with the Cats, and a vastly different player to the youngster that stormed onto the scene with the Crows, he remains one of the game's best.

Even in a year where he has been forced to be more conservative with his body than ever, priming himself for September through only playing when necessary, Dangerfield has impacted games like never before.

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He was awesome in round one, winning 31 disposals and eight clearances in a big victory over Essendon. He was just as good on his return from a month out of the side due to a calf issue, finishing with 31 touches and nine clearances against Melbourne in early July.

In most games this season, Dangerfield has demonstrated the attributes that have made him such a devastating footballer for the best part of 15 years: explosiveness, power, scoring and brute force being at the centre of his highlights reel.

"I think he bring things to the table that maybe only two or three players in the competition have been able to, certainly during his generation," Josh Jenkins, a teammate of Dangerfield's at both Adelaide and Geelong, told AFL.com.au.

"He's got the power and the brute force and the strength and the speed. He's a phenomenal athlete. He probably isn't the endurance athlete that he was when he was in Adelaide, he was a surprisingly good endurance runner when he was at the Crows. He's probably sacrificed some of that to continue being powerful and strong around the ball.

"But he's a great swimmer. He goes pretty well at tennis as well. He's got as much natural ability when it comes to sprinting as you could possibly have without having ever done any proper training. We saw him win three Grand Final sprints and he won all of them easy. He could genuinely be a national-level sprinter if he put his mind to it."

Along with the Grand Final sprint victories, Dangerfield has a resume like few others. There was the Brownlow Medal in 2016, which came in a season where he also claimed AFL Players' Association and AFL Coaches' Association Player of the Year awards.

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The 230 Brownlow Medal votes Dangerfield has amassed throughout his career puts him third all-time behind Gary Ablett jnr and Gary Dempsey. Meanwhile, his 51 three-vote games are second only to Ablett jnr on 55.

There have been best and fairests at Adelaide in 2015, and three more at Geelong in 2016, 2017 and 2019. There have also been eight All-Australian blazers stuffed away in the cupboard next to the trophy cabinet.

It makes him one of just five players to have been named All-Australian in eight seasons. The others to have done so reflect the company he will comfortably sit alongside at the end of his career: Ablett jnr, Lance Franklin, Robert Harvey and Mark Ricciuto.

For both Lynch and Jenkins, such a glittering CV made him a pleasure to play alongside during their time together at Adelaide. Until, of course, he left for Geelong in one of the biggest bombshell trades in recent memory at the end of 2015.

"He was a nightmare for us to play against," Lynch said.

"Because of his many qualities that he brings to the table, but also his contest work, he's incredibly hard to match up on or tag. That's because of his appetite and his aggression to get in and under. That was really difficult.

"I don't think there have been too many that have been able to nullify or take away his impact on many games of football. That's probably what has made him such a great player for such a long period of time."

Dangerfield won his first three games against the Crows after making the switch to GMHBA Stadium, including a 33-disposal and 11-tackle effort on a spiteful return to the Adelaide Oval in May 2016.

There was also a 36-disposal performance against his former side later in that same year on his way to the Brownlow, before the Crows finally found a new avenue to overcome their former favourite son.

"It was difficult for us at stages, because we were all such good friends with him, but we had to make a point of going after him and trying to get physical with him," Jenkins said.

"He's a player who doesn't go looking for violence or physicality or wrestling, or anything like that. But you probably saw it in a couple of games where we played against him. If you gave him an even playing field, he'd just make you look silly.

"We tried to go out of our way to be physical with him and push him around and not let him be comfortable. That was playing into his hands a little bit, because he is so strong and such a bullocking player. It was hard to play against him.

"He falls into the category of probably about half a dozen players I've played against, where you're just hoping to give him as tough a day as possible but knowing that he'll still have a huge impact in most games."

Now 32, Dangerfield still has two years to run on the five-year contract extension he penned at the end of 2019. Life after footy is still some time away, but, typical of his endless motivation, that doesn't mean it hasn't already been planned for.

He has his fishing show Reel Adventures, his podcast 'The Field' with Jenkins, a weekly radio segment on SEN and his role as the AFLPA President. He also recently signed a deal with Channel 7 to be part of its commentary team during September. Some believe he could even look to emulate the likes of Brian Taylor and Luke Darcy and one day swap footy for life as a play-by-play commentator.

"I hope, for the public's sake, that he's not a play-by-play commentator. I'd watch all games on mute if that was the case," Lynch laughed.

But the fact Dangerfield has so many options, and is able to combine his brilliance as a footballer with a raft of off-field pursuits, is testament to both his superb work ethic and his dedication to his craft.

"He enjoys the creative side of sport and the theatrical side of sport. That's why he and I are investing a lot of time and energy into our podcast. He loves to have an opinion on the sport," Jenkins said.

"He's as much a fan of the game as he is an athlete. Sometimes that becomes difficult for him. In his soul, before he even played the game, he was a fan of the game. He wants to have an opinion on the game and what's happening."

This season, on the footy field, Dangerfield has helped to spearhead a Geelong side that is on a 12-match unbeaten run heading into its round 23 clash with West Coast. The minor premiership has been secured, and a path to a flag has opened up.

It would be the Cats' first since 2011, and the first of Dangerfield's career, should it ultimately eventuate. After 300 of the finest games, it would cap what has already been a remarkable individual stint in the AFL.

"At different stages, he's spoken about how a premiership won't define him and it won't necessarily change his life for the worse if he doesn't win one. But there's no doubt it's why he's still pressing as hard as he is," Jenkins said.

"He's pressing, he knows this is his best opportunity because it's the one that's right around the corner. The ones in the past are gone, he can't get them back, and you don't know what's ahead."