Why milestone for Collingwood Magpies star Jack Crisp is bittersweet for family of Melbourne Demons legend Jim Stynes

“I thought, ‘Oh my God, it’s come out of nowhere’,” Brian said. “I didn’t realise somebody was getting so close to it. My son was beside me. He said ‘That’s a shame, that’s disappointing’.”

Before Crisp, no player had got closer than Demon turned Richmond coach Yze in 2007. Yze was dropped in round two that year after a slow start to the season, 18 games short.

“Knowing Jimmy the way I do, I know he’d have been thinking, ‘Oh crap, someone will get the record’,” Brian said. “The record doesn’t tell you who the second person was.

“I suppose he hasn’t got there yet,” Brian quipped. “It would have been nice if he equalled it and something happened for just a week, and he can equal it but not break it. That’s the selfish side of me for my brother.”

It has been put to Crisp for him to “do a Mark Taylor” – the Australian Test captain famously declared when equal with Don Bradman’s then Australian record of 334.

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Football’s romantics may like to see it happen, though it would be difficult for Collingwood to justify to members why they would be letting an important player miss a key game on the grounds of sentimentality.

When Crisp’s streak started in round 18 2014, he was playing for the Lions, Lance Franklin was in the first season of a nine-year deal at Sydney, and North Melbourne were finals-bound.

It was not until he passed 150 games in 2021 that Crisp began eyeing off the record. A three-year contract extension at the end of 2022, taking him through to 2026, made it a distinct possibility. If he keeps the run going to the end of his contract, 300 will be within reach.

“I did think about it every now and then, but I made sure I continued to prep the same, play the same way, and taking it week by week and not getting caught up by five years’ time when something might happen,” Crisp said.

That Crisp has played 11 years straight is a football miracle. Injuries remain an occupational hazard for footballers, as they were in Stynes’ days, but heightened awareness of the effects of head knocks mean he is one careless tackle away from a concussion or suspension.

As a father of three young children with his wife Mikayla, Crisp has also swerved the bugs and viruses that inevitably come home from school or childcare.

“I don’t know if it’s my immune system,” Crisp said. “Mikky seems to get sick every second week with the kids.”

Like Stynes – who overcame a six-week compound rib fracture in 1993 and played out the following year despite a medial ligament tear in his knee in round 12 – Crisp has had near misses.

He played through the 2018 finals series unaware of a stress fracture in his back. He had also carried a hip issue since the start of 2017, an injury that would require surgery. Last year, he was relegated to the sub in round three, a mechanism available only since 2021.

Crisp has also avoided the need to be “managed” – no mean feat at a time when sports scientists closely monitor player workloads.

Genetics and good fortune have undoubtedly played a part, which Crisp acknowledges, but he has also made his own luck. Ice baths, infrared saunas, massages, and appointments with osteopaths and physios are a part of his routine.

In the past two pre-seasons, he has done Pilates for strength instead of lifting weights. For night games, he fits in an afternoon nap. He rarely misses training and does not shy away from contests, in the belief injuries occur when you go “half-arsed”.

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“If I know I’m doing the work, I’ve got all the confidence to go out and play my role to the best of my ability and knowing I’ve got all the fitness levels as well,” Crisp said.

Then there are the superstitions. The tradition of eating pasta the night before a game has continued from childhood into his 30s. Pre-game, he will have his left foot strapped first. Before each quarter, he ties his shoelaces tight. He is also specific about how he wears his socks.

“The AFL logo has to be out on both of them,” Crisp said.

As respectful as Crisp is to Stynes’ achievements, unlike Taylor he has no plans for an early declaration.

“Fingers crossed I can make it further, and it doesn’t get broken again,” Crisp said with a laugh.

“I had some people at the club say, ‘How about you do him a favour and just equal it?’ I was like, ‘Nah, nah, nah, I want to make it mine and have my name in there for something’.

“He’s [Stynes] got an amazing legacy, [and is] a big inspiration to a lot of people. It’s good to be able to have my name against his in one part of the football world.”

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