THERE may be several others who grab the headlines at Sydney, but when it comes to celebrating a milestone few will receive more plaudits than Lewis Melican.

The key defender brings up game 100 against Geelong at the SCG on Sunday, some nine seasons since making his AFL debut, as he battled a litany of major injuries.

The 28-year-old from Birregurra played no more than ten games in five of those years which had many wondering if he would ever reach a mark like this.

Melican maintained the faith though.

And his work ethic and perseverance, which has long been hailed internally at the Swans, got him through the darkest of times to deliver on his early career promise and become a mainstay in the Sydney defence over the last two seasons.

"It's massive. When you come to the club you picture 100 coming up a bit quicker than it’s taken me, but with some of the setbacks I've had across my career it makes me cherish it that little bit more," Melican said.

"There's obviously the highs that you get to see on TV, but the lows can be pretty isolating at times so it takes a lot of hard work to get there, so I'm pretty proud of myself.

"Those continuous setbacks take their toll, but they’ve always been rather short-term injuries so I’ve never felt like I can’t keep doing this."

To put Melican's tale into perspective, Nick Blakey - some three years his junior - will bring up game 150 on the same day having played two less seasons.

And the milestone duo is likely to share the responsibility on their big day of trying to tame the Cats' main man in Jeremy Cameron, who still has the 100-goal mark in his sights.

"It'll be great to work on for next year, that team-defence focus. It's not so much about who's on him, the challenge will be not getting caught up thinking they're always going to go to him, because if we have a two-on-one on him, they'll just take the option that's on and beat us that way.

Since having their finals hopes dashed the Swans’ minds have been solely on building momentum for a renewed premiership push in 2026, but a win over Geelong to go with the victory away against Brisbane last week, will make it back-to-back wins over their Grand Final conquerors from the last three years.

"Yes, a win for us will disrupt what they're hoping to do, but our intention isn't to ruin their season, it’s to get our next season going in the right direction," Melican said.