WHEN it comes to the AFL, is 35 the new 30?

Perhaps not quite yet, but the rise of the 'super veteran' has been a highlight of the season to date.

You might have been forgiven for thinking Saturday night's match between Collingwood and Geelong was played in 2016, such was the form of Patrick Dangerfield (35) and Scott Pendlebury (37).

Having played key roles in a famous Grand Final win less than two years ago, Pendlebury and long-time teammate Steele Sidebottom remain amongst their side's most important players, while Dangerfield is building a late-career renaissance as a power forward, averaging two goals a game from his first two months.

The previously indefatigable Travis Boak (37) is only now starting to show some signs of slowing down, with a back injury ruling him out in recent weeks, while Dayne Zorko was named All-Australian last year at the age of 35.

Jack Gunston's resurgence has been remarkable, averaging 3.3 goals from six games, forcing his way back into the Hawthorn team at the age of 34 after being overlooked for the first two rounds, while Taylor Walker (35) has already booted 17 goals from eight games in 2025 (he kicked 29 from 18 in 2024).

Max Gawn (34) has sent a stern reminder about his weapons in the past few weeks, Rhys Stanley (35) has defied the odds to still be Geelong's No.1 ruck (although he suffered a hamstring injury on Saturday night), while Dane Rampe (35) has found a second wind in the past 18 months and blanketed Toby Greene over the weekend.

Tom Liberatore (33) keeps putting up career-best numbers - his average 27.8 disposals this year is well up from last year's 23.8 - while Mark Blicavs (34) is somewhat of a special case, having been a late convert to footy.

All are players in their mid-30s, who are often slapped with the 'veteran' tag when a descriptor is needed, but this year has seen them maintaining and - in some cases - elevating their form.

Collingwood's Jeremy Howe, 35 in June, made his AFL debut with Melbourne way back in 2011, just shy of his 21st birthday, having been drafted a year later than most.

He's lived, worked and trained through an astonishing revolution and development of knowledge when it comes to strength and conditioning, nutrition and recovery.

"For me, it's just nice to be healthy. When the body's healthy, and the team's going well, you can't help but pull up better. You don't miss any training sessions," Howe told AFL.com.au of how experienced players ensure the game doesn't go past them.

"For us, (head of high performance) Jarrod Wade and having conversations with 'Fly' (coach Craig McRae), they manage us pretty well throughout the week if needed. But at the moment, I just want whatever Steele (Sidebottom) is having, because at the moment, he's on fire. They look after us and hopefully keep us healthy.

"I think it's just the professionalism within the industry. All our high-performance team are unbelievable. Our nutritionists, there's always one per cent they're trying to bring each season. We get well looked after, well supported and we just jump on the train of what's provided. 

"You'd be pretty naïve to think what we have now isn't different to what they had 20 years ago."

It's not just AFL that's seen this revolution of super veterans.

Casual tennis fans would have been surprised spotting 40-year-old Stan Wawrinka still sending down serves at the Australian Open this year, 11 years after taking out the title at Melbourne Park, while it feels as if 37-year-old Novak Djokovic is only just now starting to succumb to injuries.

Usman Khawaja will turn 39 at the end of the year, but is still opening the batting for Australia, while Mitch Starc is still in great touch at 35, despite the incredible strain fast bowling puts on the body.

AFLW has generally seen older players feature, given the fewer games played per year, and North Melbourne key forward Kate Shierlaw produced a career-best season last year at 35.

Across sports, high performance staff have a much better understanding of load management and the importance of rest as research has evolved.

"Every gym session is personalised, everyone's doing different things. It's about how can you optimise your own body and your own performance to contribute to the team performance," Howe said.

"We've got an unbelievable team who support us old guys, but even the younger guys are now getting a leap ahead from the start. Hopefully it's onwards and upwards."

Despite the improvements in sports science, those on the 'wrong' side of 30 still need to be deployed carefully. Collingwood opted to rest Howe against Geelong in round eight as part of a long-term management plan, ahead a game against Fremantle in Perth on Thursday night.

Sidebottom, meanwhile, has played 75 per cent game time in the past two matches – managing to win the Anzac Day medal in the process – while Pendlebury has played 80 per cent.

"We've been a bit deliberate in that, and we'll pick a team according to that. Five-day breaks are hard. What time is it? We've got to get on a plane in three days' time," McRae said at 11pm in his post-match press conference on Saturday night.

"Every team has to do it. It's a challenge, you've got to think ahead. You've got to stay in the moment, but then you've got to plan for five days with the travel to Perth.

"Some guys' game-time tonight, if you look deeper, we've been looking after a couple. None of our emergencies played in the VFL, and Howie was managed."

While the likes of Dangerfield and Sidebottom seem to be getting better, others have taken on a more traditional role of a veteran this year.

The likes of Mitch Duncan, Brodie Smith, Luke Breust and Tom Campbell have made mature calls to be content with state league appearances and providing leadership at training, chipping in at AFL level when required.

It's a role Todd Goldstein (37) looked set to play this year as well, until Essendon's ruck injury crisis thrust him back into the spotlight in recent weeks.

But there's no doubting the rise of the super veteran in 2025 and the trend has given even experienced football people like Cats coach Chris Scott pause for thought.

Citing the case of the seemingly tireless Blicavs, who has played mostly on the wing this year but was drafted into his typically unique ruck/key back role on Saturday night when Stanley went down in the first quarter, Scott pondered that the industry may have previously discarded players too soon.

"There's no one in the game better equipped to play big minutes than Mark Blicavs, but it's not as if he's 24," coach Scott said.

"There's probably players on both sides where you think – maybe all those decades, we called time on players' careers too early."

"Super-veteran" status

Age has been rounded to the end of this year

37 years old
Scott Pendlebury (Collingwood), Todd Goldstein (Essendon), Travis Boak (Port Adelaide)

36 years old
Dayne Zorko (Brisbane) 

35 years old
Taylor Walker (Adelaide), Jeremy Howe (Collingwood), Patrick Dangerfield (Geelong), Rhys Stanley (Geelong), Lachie Keeffe (Greater Western Sydney), Callan Ward (Greater Western Sydney), Luke Breust (Hawthorn), Dane Rampe (Sydney)

34 years old
Mason Cox (Collingwood), Steele Sidebottom (Collingwood), Nat Fyfe (Fremantle), Michael Walters (Fremantle), Mark Blicavs (Geelong), Mitch Duncan (Geelong), Jack Gunston (Hawthorn), Tom Campbell (Melbourne), Max Gawn (Melbourne), Jake Melksham (Melbourne), Taylor Duryea (Western Bulldogs), Liam Jones (Western Bulldogs) 

33 years old
Brodie Smith (Adelaide), Sam Day (Brisbane), Ryan Lester (Brisbane), Jamie Elliott (Collingwood), Cam Guthrie (Geelong), David Swallow (Gold Coast), Jarrod Witts (Gold Coast), Steven May (Melbourne), Tom McDonald (Melbourne), Jack Darling (North Melbourne), Luke Parker (North Melbourne), Tom Lynch (Richmond), Dion Prestia (Richmond), Jamie Cripps (West Coast), Jeremy McGovern (West Coast), Jason Johannisen (Western Bulldogs), Tom Liberatore (Western Bulldogs)