'Competitive Beast, Unique Character and Super Leader' | What Teammates had to say ahead of Danger's 350th

It is a milestone that only 24 players in the history of the game have reached, but Patrick Dangerfield can etch his name into the history books once again this weekend.

Adding to a resume that includes a Premiership, a Brownlow Medal, eight All-Australian selections and numerous other awards, Dangerfield is set to play his 350th AFL game on Friday night against Brisbane.

Across the last 10 seasons the skipper has played 195 games at Geelong, so Cats Media asked some of his closest teammates for insight into the milestone man.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JUNE 14: Patrick Dangerfield of the Cats leads Geelong out onto the ground before the round 14 AFL match between Essendon Bombers and Geelong Cats at Melbourne Cricket Ground, on June 14, 2025, in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images via AFL Photos)

What does Patrick Dangerfield mean to you and the Geelong Football Club?

MARK BLICAVS

"He is amazing. The support he has given the club as a whole, the way he cares for his teammates, coaches and all the staff, he really unites us.

"He stays very constant, whether we win or lose he is always positive and he stays constant in that approach. I think that is really valuable as a leader, I have been here for a little while but even the younger players they see Pat, no matter the result he goes about his footy the same way.

"He has a loving, positive attitude and eagerness to keep improving, I think he is really special in that regard. Then obviously you see the way he plays, he is an absolute bull. I love being his teammate and I love watching what he does on field, it must be amazing from the stands and I am really privileged that I can be a part of his journey, giving him a handball and seeing him take off."

MITCH DUNCAN

"Paddy is a unique character really, someone that is so fierce and competitive on the field, but so jovial and loves to have fun off the field. He strikes a really good balance that helps the footy club and people around him too. It is a great trait in a footy club because sometimes we can get too serious and bogged down in the nuts and bolts.

"But you have to have that fun element and keep the enjoyment, wanting to come to work and grow. If you are bogged down it is hard to do that, so Paddy brings that element especially off the field. On the field he is a competitive beast and what he can do, not many can. It is nice having front row seats to watch."

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JUNE 14: Mitch Duncan (left) and Patrick Dangerfield of the Cats celebrate during the 2025 AFL Round 14 match between the Essendon Bombers and the Geelong Cats at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on June 14, 2025 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos)

MAX HOLMES

"He is a great leader, a great midfielder and someone I aspire to be like. He has been really great for me as an individual, he has been really pivotal in teaching in me."

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Copy link Copied to clipboard! "Danger means a lot not only to me, but to the whole football club. The way he goes about it and has gone about it for however many years, it is inspirational." Jack Henry

JEREMY CAMERON

"He has obviously been huge for the football club over a long, long period of time, early days at the Crows and then coming across. From afar when I wasn't playing here you could just see how powerful he was, especially around the centre of the ground. But then he would push forward and kick multiple goals, obviously a Brownlow Medalist and he has brought a lot to the club.

"Now he is getting a little bit deeper into his 30's, he is starting to push forward and play a bit more of a role up there which is nice to have him beside myself, Shannon and the other forwards. It is nice to have someone down there like him, he commands a lot of respect from the opposition with the way he can go about it and can kick multiple goals if left unattended."

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - APRIL 21: (L-R) Jeremy Cameron, Patrick Dangerfield and Tyson Stengle of the Cats celebrate during the 2025 AFL Round 06 match between the Geelong Cats and the Hawthorn Hawks at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on April 21, 2025 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos)

JAKE KOLODJASHNIJ

"Paddy is super, a super teammate and a super human.

"He goes above and beyond for his playing group, an absolute star on the field and we definitely appreciate having him out there as a teammate. He is an absolute bull and he gives his all week in, week out and I love playing with him."

SAM DE KONING

"Danger's 350th is huge for the footy club. He means a lot to me, he is a good mentor and he is just good to be around at the club. He leads in his own special way, he makes it fun and enjoyable for us boys. He is obviously a great competitor and a great of the game."

TOM STEWART

"It is sort of hard to equate in a small period of time what Pat means to me. He has been the one constant throughout my entire career, he is somebody I formed a really strong relationship with obviously through playing and now leading the team together.

"When I came into the league he was at the peak of his powers, he was the best player in the league by far. The one thing I have learned off him so much is just the joy that he brings to the game. He is uncompromising and so willing on the field, he is as fierce a competitor as I have ever seen but the way he goes about it off the field is something that I have really tried to take on myself.

He is always so happy win, lose or draw and you would never know. He has had such a great impact on this footy club and on the AFL in general, he just means so much to so many. He has picked me up when I have been down, he has celebrated me when I have been playing at my best. I can't thank him and love him enough."

ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 22: Zach Tuohy, Tom Stewart and Patrick Dangerfield of the Cats celebrate their win during the 2024 AFL Round 2 match between the Adelaide Crows and the Geelong Cats at Adelaide Oval on March 22, 2024 in Adelaide, Australia. (Photo by James Elsby/AFL Photos)

What is your favourite moment/memory of Patrick Dangerfield?

JAKE KOLODJASHNIJ

I have said to a few of the younger boys that Pat in 2016, his Brownlow year, just every week he was electric.

"He was kicking them on his left from the boundary, from 50 out, bursting out of stoppages, just doing what he does. It is what he has done for a long time over his career, so I would say that year as a whole was special to watch."

MARK BLICAVS

"He has starred in so many games so I don't have a particular moment. The way he has done it time and time again when the team has needed him.

"One of his signature moves is that he runs off to a loose ball, he is getting chased and he will jump down on all fours. He double palms the ball with two blokes on him, he will just stand up, muscle out and bursts away. It is a bit of a signature move that you can't really teach, that is just his power and his strength and I would never try that. It is very fun to see people try and latch onto him."

MITCH DUNCAN

"I think just his consistency really stands out, up until now just his ability to put his body on the line week in, week out.

"A memory that sticks out, I think we were playing the Doggies and he slotted a left foot goal from the boundary line. He just makes the hard look really easy, but then can make the easy look really hard. I think that is Pat, I certainly love playing with him and I'm glad he is at the footy club."

JACK HENRY

"I think I was in my first year and I was watching from the stands. He kicked this amazing goal just in the pocket here at GMHBA Stadium, at the start of the game and broke the whole game open, I think it was against Port Adelaide.

"Paddy and I, we both have a mutual love for film. We love chatting about the finer depths of cinema, that is one of the things that we both really enjoy."

TOM STEWART

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Copy link Copied to clipboard! The narrative around Pat was that he never got it done when it mattered in the big games, but that Finals series he was unstoppable. Tom Stewart

"My favourite moment is hard to pick, he has had so many unbelievable moments. I think the one that made me the most proud as a friend and as a teammate was his performance in the 2022 Grand Final.

"The narrative around Pat was that he never got it done when it mattered in the big games, that Finals series he was unstoppable. His strength, his will, it was just everything that we anticipated of Pat and it was him at his absolute best. He was so hard to tackle, he was on a mission and he did it with a smile on his face.

"There was a moment that he shrugged someone off and he should have had his moment where he kicked a goal, 'DK' marked the ball on the goal line and kicked the first goal of his career but Pat couldn't have been happier for him. I think that sums Pat up, but that moment in the 2022 Grand Final was special."

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What have you learned from Patrick Dangerfield?

SAM DE KONING

"I have learned how to enjoy footy from him. That is the main part of his leadership role is just making sure that we enjoy it, there is a packed stadium with heaps of fans and it has been our dream since we were a kid. Just enjoying my footy and having fun while doing it, he has been huge in that."

MAX HOLMES

"I have learned a lot of things from Paddy. He goes over and beyond, he has been very helpful along the way."

JEREMY CAMERON

"He has always been good telling me to just be myself, go out there and play my way, be sort of free with the way I go about things.

"Some guys like to get in super early, I like to be a bit later and a bit more relaxed than most. He seems to find a fair bit of enjoyment in that, it allows me to play my football that way and I play my best when I am being myself. It has been nice to be able to do that and he has been a big supporter of that, not just with myself but with everyone at the club."

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - SEPTEMBER 24: Jeremy Cameron of the Cats (L) and Patrick Dangerfield of the Cats hold the premiership cup after winning the 2022 AFL Grand Final match between the Geelong Cats and the Sydney Swans at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on September 24, 2022 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Daniel Pockett/AFL Photos)

JACK HENRY

"I think I have learned how to not take everything so serious. Obviously his football stuff is incredible and one of the best to have ever done it, in a way it is hard to take those things from him because not everyone can do what he can.

"But what I take from Paddy is how he is as a person off the field, how he can bring the energy and get excited during the week. When it is cold and wet down here in Geelong, he is always up and about and ready to go."

JAKE KOLODJASHNIJ

"I would say as a leader, he has got a really relaxed nature which I really like and can appreciate. Getting older and relaxing, appreciating the moment for what it is and I think he has that balance and does it really well. In his older years he has had a really good balance of having fun and being serious when he needs to be.

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