CHRIS Dawes has played 99 AFL matches – 71 with Collingwood from 2008-12 and 28 with the Demons since 2013. A premiership player with the Magpies in 2010, Dawes will crack the ton against the West Coast Eagles at Patersons Stadium on Saturday. He spoke with melbournefc.com.au’s Matt Burgan in the lead-up to his milestone …

MB: Chris, congratulations, on reaching the ton. How do you reflect on your achievement?

CD: That’s the thing, 100 games, I’m not sure what the stats are, but I’d imagine only something like 15 per cent – maybe 20 per cent – of blokes who get drafted go on to play 100 games. So it’s nice to be in that top bracket from that sense, but it’s one of those milestones that hopefully there are bigger ones to come. It’s one of those ones that I’ll reflect on more when my career finishes.

MB: And it wasn’t an easy start for you when your career started either.

CD: In my first years, I wondered if I’d play at all. For three and a bit years, I was battling to get a game and get out on the park at times. I just thought I might get delisted and then get on with the rest of my life. But thankfully I’ve been able to make somewhat of a career out of it so far. I’m enjoying it, but at the moment, hopefully it doesn’t get worse than this, in terms of not being able to win regularly.

MB: You’ve experienced the absolute pinnacle in the game – playing in a premiership – and also some tough times with Melbourne. How do you reflect on the highs and lows of the game?  

CD: It’d probably be unwise for me to reflect on it in that sense, because it would take my focus away on my immediate task at hand, which is trying to help Melbourne get in a position of winning premierships. It’s more about taking [what I’ve] learned and what I’ve been able to do to play my role in part of a premiership side. I’ve learned from that and I’m trying to be as positive an influence on the Melbourne footy club to help those guys experience the highs of a premiership.

MB: You’re now a two-club player. How do you feel about that?

CD: I think players should definitely want to stay one club players – I certainly did and was expecting to, but then I got moved on from Collingwood. You look for positives now and I can identify with two footy clubs, rather than just one. I’ll always have that link to Collingwood because they were the first club that drafted me and because of the premiership. But Melbourne wanted me when Collingwood didn’t and hopefully that’s where I’ll play the rest of my footy and that’ll be the majority of my football.

MB: You speak with a lot of passion for the Demons, after almost two completed seasons with the club.  

CD: At the moment, I’m just desperate to win a flag with Melbourne, so I can have that same bond with the footy club [that I experienced when playing in a premiership with Collingwood], when my playing days are over.

MB: How are you feeling about Saturday’s clash against the Eagles on the back of last week’s disappointing loss to GWS?

CD: I take a lot of confidence from the wins that we’ve had this year – we just weren’t capable of them last year. We couldn’t have beaten teams in terms of the quality that we’ve beaten this year. We’ve beaten Carlton, Essendon, Richmond and Adelaide in Adelaide. I take a lot of confidence from that – particularly beating Adelaide. We should have beaten Port Adelaide had I not stuffed up a kick towards the end. We travel well and that’s because we’re a close-knit group. Being in Perth has given us the chance to enjoy each other’s company and then have a real focus on preparing to beat the Eagles. They’ve got a lot to play for, but we’ve got a lot to play for – we need to win some respect back after the embarrassing performance we dished out last Sunday. Hopefully the Eagles don’t pay us too much respect and we can surprise them.

MB: You touched on your injuries earlier. How difficult has it been to overcome them?

CD: There are guys who have had much worse injuries than me – but I’ve certainly had my share.

MB: And you’ve played several matches hurt?

CD: I take a lot of confidence out of some of the games I’ve played when I perhaps shouldn’t have. I’ve actually played hurt and performed at a high level, when I’ve been hurting. There have been a couple of games where I was 50/50 going in, but declared myself fit to play and then I played my role for the team. It’s those games that I take a lot of confidence out of.

MB: Will you have some of your family at the game in Perth?

CD: Some of them will be there. My brother is a physio at North Melbourne and they’re in Tassie this weekend, so he won’t be able to be there, which is a shame. He was quietly hoping that I had a little one week injury, so that my 100^th could be against North Melbourne in the final round. My fiancée Paige and probably both of my sisters and my Mum and Dad will make the trip over, which is really good of them.

MB: How important has your family and friends been in your journey?

CD: It’s not just for milestones – my family and Paige have been incredibly supportive throughout and whenever it’s possible, they’ll come to games, which is something I really value. I’m lucky that we play the majority of our games in Melbourne and they get to most of them. You count yourself lucky to have such a strong family bond, when things on field aren’t going as you’d hoped.