Brisbane Lions star Darcy Wilmot seems anything but surprised about his impending milestone of 100 successive top-flight appearances since making his AFL debut in 2022.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always back my ability to be able to keep playing football,\u201d Wilmot said ahead of his century of consecutive games on Sunday at the Gabba against Essendon.<\/p>\n
\u201cEver since I was younger I always knew I was going to play in the AFL. I\u2019ve always had the belief that I was going to be able to do that (play 100 straight games).<\/p>\n
\u201cJust doing something that you love is always going to help.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou get injuries but you\u2019re able to carry on. It\u2019s lucky I\u2019ve been fortunate enough not to have a serious injury.\u201d<\/p>\n
At just 22, Wilmot has already played in three grand finals and secures two premierships, with his energy and skill in Brisbane\u2019s backline having been a key factor in the Lions\u2019 success.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll just keep doing what I\u2019m doing \u2013 attacking at half-back but also having that nice balance between the defence side of things,\u201d the 16th pick in the 2021 national draft said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s something that I pride myself on, and if that\u2019s helping the team, that\u2019s what I\u2019m going to keep on doing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got heaps of players that could easily do it as well. I\u2019m just fortunate that I\u2019m in the position that I can do that and keep playing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Following a run of three straight losses in May, the fourth-placed Lions are chasing a fifth successive win on Sunday.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve had a good patch. It\u2019s always going to be like that in a footy season, you\u2019re going to have your ups and downs,\u201d Wilmot said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve just stuck to our processes and (made) a couple of little tactical changes. We just back ourselves and back our ability to play to our strengths, and it\u2019s going well.\u201d<\/p>\n