AUGUST 17, 2007 will become one of the most significant dates in the history of the Melbourne Football Club – believed to be one of the oldest football clubs in the world.

Although the club, formed on July 10, 1858, is the pioneer of Australian Football and a foundation member of the VFL/AFL, it is the only Victorian-based club in the competition not to have a 300-game player. That is until now.

On Friday night at the MCG, against its greatest rival Collingwood, David Neitz will become the first Melbourne player to reach this extraordinary milestone and the 53rd player in VFL/AFL history.

It is yet another outstanding achievement in the 32-year-old's career, whose journey is a remarkable one, having accomplished more than most in the red and blue.

Originally from Parkmore in Melbourne's southern suburbs, Neitz, the son of Alec who played for St Kilda reserves in the 1960s, joined the Melbourne under 19s as a 15-year-old in 1990.

To put that in perspective, he was at an AFL club when today most youngsters are honing their craft via the TAC Cup or a state league-based competition. He was not drafted and is one of only 11 2007 AFL-listed players not to have been recruited via the draft system.   

His path to Melbourne was prompted by a now former AFL coach, who went on to coach two premierships with the Kangaroos in the 1990s – Denis Pagan.

"How it all came about, I was about to play for Vic Metro in the Teal Cup [now the NAB AFL under 18 championships] and Denis Pagan was the coach of the Teal Cup side and I was playing under 15s for my local team Parkmore," Neitz told melbournefc.com.au.

"Denis said: 'Look son, if you want to play in the Teal Cup side, you've got to go and play under 19s against some bigger boys'.

"I was a little bit toey about that, but I came down to Melbourne and had a runaround with the likes of David Schwarz and Paul Hopgood – guys I played a fair bit of footy with.

"I remember playing Sydney in my first game of under 19s footy and it was very tough, but I remember picking up the footy and coming through the pack and giving some guy a shirtfront and ended up still being alive.

"My teammates were happy a 15-year-old could win a hard footy and I got a bit of respect from day one, which was some weight off the shoulders."

It proved to be a big year for Neitz. He not only captained the Victorian under 15s schoolboys team in 1990, he also represented Vic Metro in the victorious Teal Cup side and played in Melbourne's losing Under 19 grand final against North Melbourne in the same year.

For three consecutive seasons from 1990-92, Neitz was a member of the Vic Metro Teal Cup side and was again part of the winning team in '92. In 1991, he represented the Australian under-17 team which toured Ireland and was named best player during that series.

From 1990-92, when Neitz played under 19s and reserves for Melbourne, he was under the tutelage of Mark Cross, who played four matches for Footscray in 1974, and was at the helm of both teams.

Neitz was never left wondering what his impressions were of his first coach. 

"He was a hard man and he made sure we were a disciplined team," Neitz said.

During his time in the reserves, Neitz managed to play on two of the great premiership players of the 1980s, which he said was invaluable.

"As a 17-year-old I played against guys like [Hawthorn's] Chris Mew and [Carlton's] David Rhys-Jones and it was an amazing experience, so it was a great development process to go through and also get a feel for the Melbourne footy club culture," Neitz said.

Melbourne's senior coach during this era was John Northey. 'Swooper' lifted the club to the finals in 1987 – for the first time since 1964 – as the Demons played off each September until 1991.

Although Neitz was never coached by Northey in a senior match, he recalled being in line to play against Hawthorn in the final round of the 1992 season. Melbourne's fate was already known, as it was set to miss the finals for the first time since 1986.

"Myself and Shane Burgmann, who ended up having a really distinguished career in the VFL, were vying for a position and 'Burgs' got the nod in the final round of the season, so I had to wait until the following year. I was so close, but so far," Neitz recalled.

For the record, that was Burgmann's only game for Melbourne and as it eventuated, Neitz would never play a match under Northey, as it was his final as coach of the Demons.

"I didn't end up playing a senior game under 'Swooper' which would've been good to get that way, but anyway, things turned out well," Neitz said.

"I remember some hard, slogging training sessions under 'Swooper' and those were the days when everyone worked and had a full-time job and footy was part-time, so we'd get some absolute floggings."

"He was a hard man and a very direct person – not that I had a lot to do with him." 

Still, Neitz's season in the reserves in 1992 and the way he finished it off - as one of Melbourne's best in its loss to Essendon in the grand final - meant exciting times were just around the corner for him.

To be continued …