In any other town, at any other time Jamie Cripps would be the undisputed champion of Northampton.

He is on the cusp playing his 200th game when he steps out against Geelong today for the West Coast Eagles and is sitting on 249 goals. He is a premiership player, a man regarded as highly as anyone in the structure of a team that has enjoyed a period of sustained success.

While he has enjoyed an exceptional career, Northampton is an exceptional town. The tiny hamlet just a couple of torpedoes north of Geraldton has produced a remarkable array of AFL talent.

Two weeks ago Cripps’ great mate Josh Kennedy retired with an eight goal haul, drawing the curtain on a 271-game and 712-goal career at the Eagles. And he doesn’t consider himself to be the best player from the town, instead offering up his junior teammate Harry Taylor as the greatest ever.

The debate, however, is far from clear cut with Carlton captain Patrick Cripps, former Hawthorn and Eagles 2006 premiership player Daniel Chick, Fremantle star Paul Hasleby and inaugural Eagle Andrew Lockyer in the conversation.

Jamie Cripps sits alongside the best of them.

When driving through the town centre these days a nod to that galaxy of AFL stars holds pride of place, with images of them all proudly on display in the main drag.

He also holds a position of pride among the best forwards in West Coast history. He sits in eighth place among the goal-kickers in club history and without doubt will climb higher up that list. That top 10 is brimming with champions who have made a profound impact on both the club and the game.

While Cripps has hit the scoreboard it is more about the way he has gone about it that draws so much respect internally.

His work rate, selfless running in that demanding high half-forward role so often provides the barometer of an Eagles performance.

He links defence and is the conduit in transition to attack. And he’s tough. Country tough.

While there have been more high profile player trades completed by the Eagles in their 36 seasons, the one that snared Cripps from St Kilda is as good as any (with the possible exception of the Kennedy-Chris Judd deal that has received so much attention recently).

After being drafted by St Kilda in 2010 with #24, Cripps was keen to head back to his home State and that was facilitated when the Eagles handed over two selections in the 40s for the energetic forward.

That deal that is similar to the one that saw Elliot Yeo return to Perth after two years at Brisbane. Originally drafted at #30 in 2011, the Eagles offered Brisbane pick 28 two years later and Yeo has been another outstanding contributor in the Adam Simpson era.

In playing his 200^th game for the club (in addition to the 16 he played with the Saints) Cripps becomes the 28^th Eagle to reach that lofty milestone.

Just as his image sits comfortably alongside his peers on the roadside at Northampton, so he does within the list of West Coast greats for both games and goals.

He might not have the profile of others, but that’s by choice. He’s a blue collar, get down and get your hands dirty kind of guy. The kind of guy you’d love by your side.