WHILE Jarryd Roughead will on Saturday night achieve a milestone that is every young football fan’s dream, it isn’t enough to take his mind off the task at hand.

Roughead, a dual premiership player and Coleman Medal winner with Hawthorn will play his 200th AFL match in a critical top-of-the-table clash against the Swans.

It’s a huge occasion not only for him personally but for his team.

As most of us are being nostalgic about all he has done in his time at Hawthorn and recalling some of the big redhead’s best moments in brown and gold - like seeing him make an emotional return in 2012 after having his 2011 season derailed by a ruptured Achilles - the man himself is focused solely on winning one of the biggest games of the season to date.

For Roughead Saturday night is just another crucial game to win as he and the Hawks aim to cement their place in the top four.

“It’s something you look back on when your career is done, a good achievement in your career,” Roughead told hawthornfc.com.au

“For now, it’s just another game – it’s first versus third.

“As good as it is as an individual achievement, we’ve got to make sure we beat Sydney so we can stay at equal top of the ladder.
“That’s the main focus.”

But let’s indulge ourselves quickly.

Draft day 2004 was a nervous one for Roughead who was expected to be picked up early in the draft, top five in fact.

He entered that day expecting to be heading to Punt Rd to spend his AFL life in yellow and black with Richmond.

But as many AFL players would attest, rarely in football do things happen as you expect.

As it turned out, the Hawks swooped on Roughead with pick two in the draft - he would swap what he thought would be a Tigers jumper for a Hawthorn one and head down to Glenferrie Oval to join the Hawks.

Since then, Roughead has achieved a lot in his time at Hawthorn and in the process become a favourite amongst the fans.

From the way he takes big marks to being one of the most reliable set shot goal kickers in the AFL, then there’s the bone-crunching tackles and the unexpected – playing as a 193cm midfielder.

There isn’t one person who bleeds brown and gold who doesn’t love ‘Roughy’.

He has won two premierships with the Hawks, one at 21 and the other at 26.

It was a long time between drinks for the versatile full forward but the wait taught him a lot about playing league football.

Roughead was part of a premiership-winning team in just his fourth season in the AFL and in just his 83rd senior game.

By the time the last Saturday in September came along in 2013, Roughead was a 184-game veteran.

Between the two premierships, Roughead played in a losing Grand Final, tore his Achilles tendon and had questions raised over his longevity and ability to regain the form he’d shown before the injury.

Those experiences though have made the ride all the more special.

“I thought I was originally going to get drafted to Richmond but then Hawthorn came in and took me,” Roughead said.

“It has been a quick 10 years since then but it has been an unreal ride.

“To win two premierships and be part of a very strong club, it’s something that you’re very lucky to be part of.

“I was 21 when I won my first one and then you probably think it’s going to happen a lot from there.

“But now, losing one and then winning last year, it does make it a lot more enjoyable and it means a fair bit.”