IF ALASTAIR Clarkson had gone with his first instinct, Brent Guerra would have joined Hawthorn as a small forward.

When Guerra was delisted by St Kilda at the end of 2005, he had spent most of his six AFL seasons playing in attack.

And when the Hawks coach spoke with Guerra about playing for Hawthorn, he initially saw an opening for him as a crumbing forward.

However, while at Port Adelaide, Guerra’s designated SANFL club, Central District, was coached by Clarkson in 2001-02, and when he played there he did so in a previously foreign role - as a defender.

It was a role he was keen to reprise at the Hawks.

"I told ‘Clarko’ I’d love to play down back again," Guerra says. "I really enjoyed doing that at Central District."

This Sunday against St Kilda, Guerra, 28, is set to play his 200th AFL game. It will be the 104th time he has taken the field for the Hawks - he played 65 games for Port (2000-03) and 31 for St Kilda (2004-05) - and, with Clarkson’s blessing, he has played most of them in defence.

There, he has proven versatile enough to play on a range of small and medium-sized opponents, while his raking left foot has set up counter-attacks - Guerra has led the club’s rebound-50 count in three of the past five seasons - and, at kick-ins, has been entrusted to find targets in a defensive area increasingly crowded by opposition forward presses and zones.

Not that Guerra is fazed by his kick-in duties. "I find it tougher kicking a goal from 30m out directly in front," he says.

"Although it has definitely got harder to hit the short options with the full-ground press teams do now."
 
However, this season, Guerra has returned to his footballing roots, combining his time in defence with stints on the forward line.

Versatility is the lot of the modern footballer, especially since the introduction of the substitute rule this season, so it’s no surprise Clarkson has tried Guerra up forward.

Little doubt, he’s aware Guerra once kicked seven goals in a game, against West Coast in round nine of 2004.

Guerra says he has enjoyed his time up forward this year, playing alongside Jarryd Roughead, Lance Franklin and Cyril Rioli.

The 2008 premiership player says he is enjoying his football as much as he ever has and is confident the Hawks have the playing group to challenge for another flag before he retires. 

But for now, he will allow himself a brief moment to savour his milestone.

"At one point in my career, I definitely didn’t think I’d get to 100 games, but Hawthorn gave me an opportunity. To get to 200 is unbelievable."

This article appears in this weekend's AFL Record