3260
Postcode of Camperdown, where Lucas grew up in Victoria's west. He was a Geelong supporter after playing for the Falcons in the U18 competition.

4
The draft pick Fremantle traded Essendon for Bomber Tony Delaney, who went on to play 76 career games for three different clubs. The Dons took Lucas with the pick in the 1994 national draft.

87,549
Fans who packed the MCG for Lucas' debut in the second-ever Anzac Day clash with Collingwood in 1996. His stats from that game read three kicks, one mark and four handballs. Essendon lost by 12 points.

7
Games it took Lucas to kick more than one goal. It took him four games to kick a goal at all, but when he started, he really got going, finishing with 471 (and 309 behinds). His best career bag came in round 22, 2007, when he kicked 8.3 – seven in the final term – in James Hird and Kevin Sheedy's farewell game against West Coast at Subiaco.

2001
Year he married Georgia, with whom he has three daughters: Mia, Hannah and Meg.

270
Number of games Lucas played – the second most of any Bomber. Matthew Lloyd, Lucas' schoolmate at St Bernard's College, will pass his tally when he returns from a heel injury, leaving Lucas in third spot behind him and Dustin Fletcher (309 games).

835

Number of handballs in 14 years for the Bombers. It's fair to say the handball wasn't Lucas' favourite mode of disposal – he kicked almost five times as often.

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.