Every player needs a slice of luck to reach a milestone as significant as 200 games, but West Coast wingman Andrew Gaff’s remarkable durability is owed to much more than simply good fortune.

The 2015 John Worsfold medallist and dual All Australian admits he isn’t the most flexible of footballers, as anyone who has seen him hobbling around at training several days after a game can attest.

But Gaff wrings plenty out of his body each week – regularly clocking around 14 or 15km per match – and rarely, if ever, produces a sub-par performance at home or on the road.

That consistency and the attention to detail in his recovery and preparation since making his debut as the substitute in round one, 2011 has helped the classy left-footer notch up 199 matches so far – with a career landmark to come at the Gabba against Brisbane this Saturday night.

“I’ve had a bit of luck. You need a bit of luck injury-wise to string a few games together,” Gaff told reporters from the Gold Coast’s Royal Pines Resort on Wednesday.

“I’ve probably got one of the worst flexibility in the AFL I reckon, just with my hips and glutes so I need to do things a little bit different.

“Ice baths are probably a bit of a dying art across our team and across the AFL at the moment but I still like to go in them. Stretching-wise you’ve got to do a little more.

“I think it’s just figuring out what works for you … what is going to give you the best chance physically but also mentally to get out there each week and hopefully play well.

“But really proud to play 200 for this great club, great successful club, and meet some lifelong friends, although disappointed that friends and family probably can’t come up this weekend.

“It means probably more to them than it does to me at this stage, but it’s one of those things you look back once your career is finished or once it is at the end of the season you appreciate everything you go through.

“It has been 10 years now and I’ve loved it.”

After arriving in a stellar draft year for the Eagles at pick No.4 overall in 2010, alongside close mate Jack Darling (26) – who is due to reach the 200-game mark next week - premiership ruck Scott Lycett (29) and rookie diamond in the rough Jeremy McGovern, Gaff helped steer the Eagles towards a successful era.

He has finished top-10 in the John Worsfold Medal in eight of his nine completed seasons, and averaged at least 24 disposals in each of the past six campaigns under Adam Simpson – when the Eagles have finished in the top eight five times.

Appearing in 13 finals has hastened Gaff’s ability to play 200 matches, and featuring in September action is undoubtedly his highlight, despite all the individual accolades so far.

“I’ve been very lucky to play at a club that most years has been in the finals that I’ve played,” Gaff said.

“Every player wants to play well in those games and me and a lot of the guys have had several opportunities to do that.

“There’s a few of us still seeking hopefully our first flag at some stage. There’s no guarantees with anything in sport and the AFL, so that’s the great thing about it.

“You don’t know what’s going to happen on the weekend and that’s what makes it one of the best games in the world.”

As is always the case, Gaff would prefer the focus is on the team rather than himself, and bouncing back from a lacklustre outing against Gold Coast is at the forefront of his and every Eagle’s minds ahead of the tricky assignment at the Gabba - when highly-valued teammate Jamie Cripps will play his 150th match for the club.

West Coast lost the corresponding fixture in round one last season in slippery conditions under lights by 44 points and will hope to learn from that encounter, as well as the Suns defeat when Gold Coast outhunted and outworked the visitors.

“We expect better of ourselves and we’ve got a team that’s played a lot of senior football together over so many years, a lot of experienced guys with a lot of success as well,” Gaff said.

“We expect close to perfection and that was a long way off that Saturday night.

“We need to adjust to the conditions a bit better. We need to be a lot cleaner, a lot better, a lot sharper.

“Unfortunately we had to have Saturday night’s performance to realise these things and adjust these things from now on.”