There is something a little odd about the fact that Andrew Gaff is living in a hub at Royal Pines Resort 2.8km from Metricon Stadium on the Gold Coast preparing for his 200^th AFL game on Saturday night.

Why? Because his temporary home could very easily have been his real home. And instead of viewing Metricon Stadium as a part-time training venue while the AFL emerges from a world-wide Coronavirus Pandemic, as he does now, it could be his football headquarters.

It all swung on one position in the 2010 National Draft.

Gaff, a highly touted 18-year-old from the Oakleigh Chargers in the Victorian under-18 competition, was claimed by the Eagles with selection #4.

But his ticket to Perth was only stamped after the Gold Coast Suns, armed with a series of draft concessions ahead of their entry to the AFL in 2011, had overlooked Gaff with selections #1-2-3.

Instead the expansion club chose West Australians David Swallow and Harley Bennell at #1 and #2, and South Australian Sam Day at #3.

But 10 years on Suns insiders still say it was a close call. While they had locked in the need to take one big man and had identified Day as their preferred choice, Gaff could easily have been preferred to Swallow or Bennell.

If there was one single factor that weighed against Gaff it was that the Carey Grammar graduate came from a very close family in suburban Kew and was seen a flight risk.

Even now the club believes that had they chosen Gaff he would not have gone the journey. He would have returned to Victoria just like the three players the Suns drafted with picks #7-9-11.

With interstaters Swallow, Bennell and Day in the bank the Suns took Victorians Josh Caddy, Dion Prestia and Tom Lynch to complete a draft that was intended to provide a large slice of their foundation side.

How ironic it was to football pundits and how painful it must have been for the Suns to see Caddy, Prestia and Lynch play in the 2019 Richmond premiership side about 12 months after Gaff, hotly pursued by Victorian clubs at the end of 2018, had signed a long-time extension to stay with the Eagles.

Gaff will become the third member of the AFL’s Class of 2010 to reach 200 games when the Eagles make the short trek up the highway to play the Brisbane Lions tonight.

He will step out onto the Gabba about six hours after North Melbourne’s Shaun Atley, pick #19 in the 2010 draft, plays his 200^th game against the Sydney Swans at Marvel Stadium on this afternoon.

Only Hawthorn’s Isaac Smith, pick #17, has beaten Gaff and Atley to their double century.

Next in line, one game behind Gaff is teammate Jack Darling, drafted at #26. Then follows #40 Luke Parker (197 games), #66 Paul Puopolo (192) #33 Jeremy Howe (185) rookie pick #22 Luke Dahlhaus (180) #8 Dyson Heppell (170), #14 Brodie Smith (169) and rookie #18 Ed Curnow (167).

But the order has changed significantly along the way.

Darling was the first member of the Class of 2010 to reach 50 games in round three, 2013. He was followed by Heppell in round eight, Gaff and Puopolo in round nine, Atley in round 11 and Isaac Smith round 14.

Puopolo won the race to 100 games, posting triple figures in round 15 2015, with Gaff and Isaac Smith next in round 16 and Atley in round 17.

At 150 games it was Isaac Smith in round 16 2017, followed by Gaff and Atley in round 17 and Darling and Parker in week one of the finals.

The Class of 2010 has been kind to the Eagles. And not just because it delivered Gaff and Darling.

Scott Lycett, 2018 Eagles premiership player now at Port Adelaide, joined the club via selection #28 and, in one of the all-time draft steals, Jeremy McGovern became an Eagle via selection #44 in the Rookie Draft of the same year.

Also, Jamie Cripps, 12^th on the Class of 2010 games list at 165 games and another member of the Eagles’ 2010 premiership side, was originally drafted by StKilda at #24 in the 2010 National Draft.

Statistically, Eagles have dominated the Class of 2010.

Gaff, with 5316 career possessions, heads that list from Parker (4540), Isaac Smith (4314), Heppell (4262) and Prestia (3796).

Darling leads the goals list from the 2010 draft with 380, from Lynch (320), Geelong’s Josh Jenkins (296), Port Adelaide’s Charlie Dixon (215) and Cripps (215).

And McGovern, with four All-Australian blazers, is the most decorated member of the Class of 2010 in this category. Gaff, with two, is the only other multiple All-Australian from that year, with Darling, Parker, Lynch, Heppell and Brodie Smith one-time selections.

Gaff, set to become the 24^th Eagles 200-gamer, also ranks second in Brownlow Medal votes from the Class of 2010 with 92, just behind Parker’s 94 and ahead of Heppell’s 71. And he has most top 10 best and fasirest finishes with eight in a row since 2012. He’s gone 5-8-4-1-3-6-5-4.

Gaff, Heppell, Atley, Brodie Smith, Bennell, Caddy and Day were members of the 2010 All-Australian under-18 team dominated by players from the Victorian Country team after they won the title on percentages from Victoria Metro and South Australia. It was:-

B: Ben Jacobs (VM), Matthew Watson (VM), Dyson Heppell (VC)
HB: Shaun Atley (VC), Patrick McCarthy (SA), Brodie Smith (SA)
C: Jared Polec (SA), Mitch Hallahan (VC), Andrew Gaff (VM)
HF: Harley Bennell (WA), Lucas Cook (VC), Adam Treloar (VC)
F: Jayden Pitt (VC), Steven May (NT), Josh Caddy (VM)
R: Daniel Gorringe (SA), Anthony Miles (NSW/ACT), Tom Liberatore (VM)
INT: Sam Day (SA), Josh Bruce (NSW/ACT), Josh Green (Tas), Sam Darley (Tas).

Top 20 picks in the 2010 National Draft plus all other 100-gamers, with career games and goals (with averages) and Brownlow Medal votes have been:-

Footy Facts from the 2010 Draft

Lucas Cook, centre half forward in the 2010 All-Australian under-18 side and drafted at #12 to Melbourne from the North Ballarat Rebels, is the last top 20 pick not to play a game in the AFL and the only one since Daniel O’Keefe, taken by Sydney at #15 in the 2006 National Draft. There have only been two others since the turn of the century – Kris Shore, pick #18 in 2002 to North Melbourne, and Luke Molan, pick #9 in 2001 to Melbourne.

Patrick McCarthy, centre half back in the 2010 All-Australian under-18 side and drafted at #34 to Carlton from Glenelg, played just one AFL game.

Daniel Gorringe, first ruck in the All-Australian under-18 side and pick #10 to the Gold Coast in between #9 Dion Prestia and #11 Tom Lynch, played 22 games at Gold Coast and four games with Carlton. He is now on the reality TV series ‘Big Brother’.

Two prominent AFL player agents were also former top 20 picks who did not play a lot of football. John Meesen, pick #8 in 2004 to Adelaide, played two games with the Crows and four games with Melbourne. And David Trotter, pick #9 in 2003 to North Melbourne, played seven games.

Fifteen AFL premiership players, headed by three-time Hawthorn flag-winners Isaac Smith (pick #19) and Paul Puopolo (#66), were given their first entry ticket to the AFL via the 2010 Draft. The other 12 are once-only premiership players – Darling, Lycett, Cripps and McGovern at West Coast, Lynch (2019), Caddy and Prestia (2017-19) at Richmond, Parker and the injury-plagued and now retired #57 Alex Johnson at Sydney (2012), rookie pick #22 Luke Dahlhaus (now at Geelong), rookie pick #39 Jason Johannisen and father/son #41 Tom Liberatore at the Western Bulldogs (2016), and rookie pick #85 Will Langford at Hawthorn (2014).

Four current AFL captains came from the 2010 Draft - #1 Swallow, #8 Heppell, #40 Parker and rookie pick #16 Tom Jonas at Port Adelaide. Also, Lynch and Steven May, a zone selection to the Gold Coast, are former captains at the Suns.