Hawthorn forward Mabior Chol is set to play his 100th AFL match on Saturday night against St Kilda at Marvel Stadium.

Born in South Sudan, Chol began his AFL journey when he was drafted by Richmond with Pick 30 in the 2015 Rookie Draft.

His debut came in Round 23 of that year against Sydney, before going on to play 31 games for the Tigers.

In 2021, Chol exercised his free agent rights to join Gold Coast, where he booted 54 goals from 30 matches with the Suns. 

Since being traded to Hawthorn at the end of 2023, Chol has been an instrumental figure in Hawthorn's forward line, booting 67 majors from his 38 games so far.

In his first year as a Hawk, the smooth-moving forward topped Hawthorn's goalkicking tally with 37 goals in 2024. 

This season, Chol (30 goals) is placed second behind Jack Gunston (35 goals), with both players on track for career-high goal tallies. 

Speaking to RSN Breakfast, Gunston spoke glowingly on Chol's influence at the club.

"He is the most hard-working bloke throughout the week," Gunston said. 

"When you see him on game day, his chase-down tackles, his spoils, he puts his body on the line and that's the stuff you love to see from him. 

"It was great to see him get rewarded on the weekend and kick five goals.

"He's had a really good season but it's the stuff off the ball as well, we love playing with Marbs." 

Senior Coach Sam Mitchell echoed Gunston's sentiment when speaking to the media on Thursday morning. 

"I'm rapt for Marbs," Mitchell said.

"When you look at him and when he plays, he's been a player who has been fantastic to watch at his best, and perhaps not at other times in his career.

"But for us to try and get him playing his best is good for the game, good for us and good for him.

"I think when you see the actions that he's gone to and his progression across his career, it's 100 games to be proud of."