HE MAY have been visibly embarrassed by the special edition T-shirts worn by his teammates for the occasion, but Toby Greene's 200th game for GWS this weekend is no ordinary milestone.
The superstar forward is the first draftee from the club to reach the landmark number, progressing from a raw, maverick talent taken with pick No.11 in 2011 into arguably the most eye-catching player in the game.
His growth has been one of the more fascinating individual player tales over the past decade and will be the subject of much reflection when he leads his charges out onto GMHBA Stadium to face Geelong on Saturday afternoon.
"I didn’t know how to make my bed when I moved up so that was big," he said.
"It's been a great journey so far, 12 years in Sydney, I've been here since the club started."
He is now the Giants' second highest goalkicker, a best-and-fairest winner, two-time All-Australian and crucially, the captain.
As he rode the trials and tribulations of on-field and off-field indiscretions, that's not a position he envisaged being in come the 200 game mark.
"It's not something I was good at or fond of, so it's something I've had to work at along the journey and I've been loving it this year," Greene said.
A key Toby Greene trait that has never been questioned though is his loyalty.
He has stayed the course at GWS while many others have deserted the club for supposed greener pastures.
"It's massive. It shows the person that he is," Giants coach Adam Kingsley said.
"It's a true reflection of the character, the loyalty he has for the footy club and it tells the club that he's all in. It encourages the guys coming through now to follow suit."
And his coach is happy to lean on the Greene story to influence others, such as Harry Himmelberg who is a free agent at season's end, to follow in his footsteps.
"We have a couple coming out of contract and into free agency that have that opportunity and we expect and hope that they show that same loyalty that Toby's shown us," Kingsley said.
One player who has moved on from GWS is Jeremy Cameron.
The Geelong superstar is the only player to have kicked more goals for the Giants than Greene and the Giants skipper is unashamedly excited to square up against him on his big day.
"Yeah definitely, I'll have a few words with him. Hopefully he drops in the hole. I saw in one of the clips that he was getting back in the backline so I'll see what I can do," Greene said.
"I'm looking forward to playing against him and he's still one of my best mates. He's a special player but hopefully we stop him on the weekend."
Cameron's departure from the Giants has been rewarded with a premiership but Greene is adamant that dream for he and a selection of his teammates who have committed to GWS isn't over.
"I'm definitely not satisfied yet. I reckon I've got the most out of myself but I want to be playing for five or six years yet, so I've got a lot to go," he said.
"I'm one of the older boys and we've got a group of 18 to 23-year-olds now that I'm responsible for, I want to see them get to their potential and ultimately that will make us a better team.
"I think what we've done as a club is pretty special. We don't have a premiership and that's what a lot of people will judge it on. We had a great five-six year stint and we were able to win finals.
"The only thing you can compare it to is Gold Coast really and we've been a lot more successful but we've got a lot more work to do to get back there."
There aren't many more difficult places to go to try and achieve a milestone win than Kardinia Park and an away clash with the reigning premier.
"It's a great opportunity. We'll just be full of excitement and energy and if we play the way we think we can we’ll be a good chance," Greene said.
The absence of key defenders Sam Taylor, Nick Haynes and Harry Himmelberg hurts along with Josh Kelly's hamstring injury. But the coach is adamant the occasion will be a driver for the group.
"It'll definitely be a source of motivation. They'll want to play well for Toby that's for sure, their skipper," Kingsley said.
"We'll prepare as per normal but clearly there's a little bit extra this week being Toby's 200th."
Finding the inspiration to lift for the captain shouldn't be a tough task for the Giants group. Stopping Cameron and Tom Hawkins, however, is far more arduous.
"Full flood I think," Kingsley joked.
"It's a daunting challenge they're the best key forward combination in the League. Obviously, we're down a couple of important key defenders, but next man up.
"We have to recognise that they're probably going to kick goals, it's just how many. They're going to challenge us but as a team we have to get the job done."
