Geelong defender Mark Blicavs' journey to game 250 in the blue and white hoops has been yet another unorthodox one for the Cats.
Like many of his teammates, the 33-year-old was selected in unlikely circumstances in the 2012 draft, bringing in zero football knowledge or skills when he walked into the doors at Kardinia Park.
Flashforward to 2024 and Blicavs is arguably one of the Cats greatest and most versatile players of the modern era.
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Blicavs didn't enter the league in normal fashion, instead being drafted as a category B rookie, amidst his attempts to qualify for London 2012 as a steeplechaser.
He decided to give footy a crack and now, he's got a lot to show for it.
So do the Cats.
In 2024, with two Carji Greeves best and fairests, one All-Australian blazer and a premwiership under his belt, Blicavs could be the Cats' most "critical" cog, according to Geelong coach Chris Scott.
"He's been critical to the way we've played … and he couldn't play at all," Scott said in Geelong on Thursday.
"We went in with low expectations (when we drafted him)."
The discovery of Blicavs was partly thanks to former Cats list manager Stephen Wells, who is known for finding diamonds in the rough.
Wells, alongside triple Cats premiership defender Matthew Scarlett, also picked up defender Tom Stewart from South Barwon Football Club as a mature aged recruit, in another successful left-field move for the club.
"That's one of the hallmarks Stephen Wells has approached his job over the years, the one in a million is worth pursuing if it means that one is Mark Blicavs," Scott said.
Scott, who has coached the Cats to two flags (2011 and 2022), expressed his initial hesitations when the 198cm athlete joined the club.
"It is difficult to explain, and might sound a bit harsh, but just how back he was when he came in," Scott said.
"This was a throw at the stumps situation and to be frank, if the rules weren't the way they were with the category B situation, he never would have ended up on our list."
Scott declared that the defender, who also steps in as a tall midfielder and ruckman for the Cats, has "inspired" Geelong to look to recruit outside the box.
"It has inspired us to take chances on other players who are long shots as well and I think that alone is a good thing to have that mechanism in the system," Scott said.
"Because without it, we wouldn't have seen Mark Blicavs play AFL football at all, let alone 250 games.
"In my mind, all things considered, it is one of the most extraordinary stories of the modern era."
Geelong face the Western Bulldogs on Saturday night as part of the AFL's Gather Round in Adelaide.
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