Sandilands plays his 200th AFL game in Sunday's Derby against West Coast. The three-time All Australian ruckman and Fremantle's 2009 best and fairest was selected with pick No. 33 in the 2002 rookie draft.

McManus, who played six seasons with Sandilands as a ruck rover and wingman, is convinced the 31-year-old's ruckwork is one of the most valuable commodities Fremantle has. 

"There's too many times that I've stood in the middle of the ground and he's tapped it straight down my throat and I've looked like a hero," McManus said. 

"So the value of having him in the team is huge for us, I would have thought.

"I'm extremely proud of him to play 200 games. Because at the start I don't think he would have thought he could play 200. 

"For the most part he's regarded as the best ruckman in the league." 

 

McManus said he has enjoyed watching Sandilands grow into the player he has become. 

Ironically, given Sandilands' specially-designed size 18 boots, McManus says it took the 211cm, 120kg giant some time to find his feet at AFL level. 

"I think originally when Aaron first came to the club he was probably thinking, 'wow this is the AFL, I'm not sure if I belong'," McManus told AFL.com.au. 

"He took a while, this sounds funny, to grow into the fact that he was a big-time player and could be a dominant player in the competition."

McManus thought his teammates were vitally important to Sandilands' self-belief. 

"We were always a big part of Aaron's development," McManus said. 

"For us to be successful we needed Aaron to start believing in himself, because we certainly believed in him. 

"Eventually it started to come. One of the big key years for me was 2006. He really started to come of age then. We played the Sydney Swans at ANZ Stadium in the prelim final and he absolutely destroyed the ruckman that day. 

"He was wrestling them, showing his physical strength compared to theirs and really was standing tall. I remember him just belting the ball 30 metres from the boundary throw-ins and ball ups. He absolutely dominated. 

"For me, that was kind of like a realisation of 'geez, I'm not bad at this game, I'm pretty good and I'm bloody big, and it's hard for the opposition to stop me'. 

"I reckon from then he was the player we see dominate that ruck position now."