When Shaun Burgoyne takes to the field against the Tigers this Sunday, the Burgoynes will have played the equal second most games by any pair of brothers in VFL/AFL history.
The duo is currently sitting third with a total of 577 games (240 for Peter, 337 for Shaun), and are set to draw level with the Nankervis brokers on 578 (Ian 325, Bruce 253).
The Madden Brothers set a seemingly impossible target of 710 when Justin Madden pulled on the boots for the 332nd time against Brisbane in the ’96 semi-final, short of older brother Simon’s 378 games.
Peter Burgoyne had already played four seasons with Port Adelaide when his younger brother joined the club via Pick 12 in the 2000 draft. The pair combined for an impressive 331 games between 2001 and 2009, before Peter called time and Shaun packed up for Waverley.
Since then, ‘Silk’ has piled on a further 180 games in the brown and gold.
Between them, the Burgoyne Brothers have played in a whopping 50 finals matches and won five premiership medallions. Peter was also named on the interchange of the Indigenous Team of the Century (2005), and if the team were selected a decade later – there would be a strong claim for his brother to join him.
Most AFL/VFL games by a pair of brothers:
Madden (710 games comprising 378 for Simon and 332 for Justin),
Nankervis (578 games comprising 325 for Ian and 253 for Bruce),
Burgoyne (577 games comprising 240 for Peter and 337 for Shaun),
Cornes (555 games comprising 255 for Chad and 300 for Kane),
Coventry (533 games comprising 227 for Syd and 306 for Gordon),
McVeigh (526 games comprising 232 for Mark and 294 for Jarrad),
Richardson (518 games comprising 277 for Wayne and 241 for Max),
Wakelin (513 games comprising 252 for Darryl and 261 for Shane),
Rocca (499 games comprising 257 for Saverio and 242 for Anthony),
Shaw (492 games comprising 237 games for Rhyce and 255 games for Heath).
