Milestones do not always correlate to victory. Indeed, without any data on the win-loss ratio of significant matches for individuals and clubs, an educated guess would be that it runs only marginally better than 50 percent.
But against St Kilda at Marvel Stadium on Saturday, the West Coast Eagles will have three reasons to celebrate, should they endure against a Saints outfit that will be hell-bent on rebounding from a disappointing performance last week.
Popular defender Brad Sheppard will play his 200th senior game and in doing so will become the 23rd Eagle to achieve the double ton.
His story is one of heart-break, resilience, persistence and class.
Alongside him, premiership captain Shannon Hurn will equal the record set by ruckman Dean Cox as having represented the Eagles more times than any other individual in the storied 34-year history of the club.
When he retired in 2014 Cox, inducted into the West Coast Eagles Hall of Fame a few weeks ago, had played 290 games. Hurn, the unflappable and revered half-back, will equal that achievement when he takes the field against the Saints.
Most Eagles aficionados would be across the milestones set to be achieved by two men whose achievements compare favourably to the many great players to have represented this club.
The third leg of this historic trifecta is club focused. West Coast will play its 800th match since entering the competition in 1987.
The Eagles have played 799 matches, for 455 wins, six draws and 338 defeats. It represents a winning strike rate of around 57 percent.
No club has played more finals series than the Eagles since their inception and they have played 55 matches at the sharp end of the season, for 26 wins, 28 losses and a draw. They have qualified for seven grand finals, winning four of them in what has been a remarkable journey to this point.
