Mum always used to say ‘you’ll be judged by the company you keep’.

If that’s the case, Sandi and William Hurn will have taken great comfort from the young blokes their son, Shannon, has been hanging around since he arrived in Perth 16 years ago.

He counts among his closest mates Matt Priddis, Mark LeCras, Nic Naitanui and Andrew Gaff. Their football achievements are remarkable and anyone with even a fleeting interest in the game would know of them.

But beyond what they did – and continue to do – in the cut and thrust of the AFL, they are exceptional people. Generally, there’s something in that. Longevity and success in the game comes to few wayward characters.

When Hurn was plucked out of his home town of Angaston in South Australia to join the West Coast Eagles with pick #13 in the 2005 National Draft, his parents would surely have had mixed emotions.

Pleased that Shannon would get the chance to chase his football dream, apprehensive that he would be relocating to Perth to achieve it.

All mothers fret when their sons leave home in their late teens. Even with the assurances of a club that embraces its recruits wholeheartedly, there must be a level of trepidation. Interstate families usually come across to Perth in the days after a draft to check out the environment.

It’s a whirlwind. An induction that provides insights into the club values, introductions to the coaching staff, senior administrators, welfare officers – who will assist with the placement of their son into a “host” family – and those people who will provide a comfortable home away from home.

A dinner with other parents of draftees, a club lunch on the Sunday and they head home.

William Hurn is a pragmatic character. Your archetypal farmer.

Thick set, broad shoulders, strong hands. Carved from a lifetime on the land. When he throws out his right paw to greet you, there is a purpose. It’s powerful and says g’day in that inimitable country way.

Shannon has inherited so many of his father’s traits. Physically, the similarities are obvious. Outside of the barrel chest, tree trunk legs and etched jawline, so often adorned with a wry smile, their characters are mirror images.

Unassuming, unflappable, understated. Measured and considered. Nothing is disastrous, nothing celebrated beyond its value.

When the Eagles won the 2018 premiership, you didn’t see William doing the Dean Boxall gyrations and fist pumps on the second deck of the Ponsford Stand. Boxall, of course, became a social media phenomenon when his charge, Arianne Titmus, won the 400m gold medal at the Olympics this week.

William was absolutely thrilled by that gripping Grand Final victory. He was wildly excited like the rest of us. Absolutely chuffed to see his son achieve his premiership ambition. Not only that, Shannon was the captain.

Perhaps the Hurn demeanour has been moulded by life on the farm. So many of the things that dictate the outcomes from their toil are beyond their control. The extremes of weather – hail or blistering heat, insect infestations, fungal diseases and even grain prices.

Going with the flow has been learned. Adjusting to what life throws up a fact of farming.

Regardless, the Hurns are quality stock who are consistent in approach and attitude. You can’t help but feel that Shannon’s personality and lineage have been key attributes in him becoming the first West Coast Eagles player to reach the 300 game mark.

Over the last 35 years, 261 players have represented the Eagles. He is the first to reach the 300-game mark. It says a bit about him.

So does the fact that LeCras was among his former teammates who called into training on Wednesday to wish him well. That he dropped around to the Priddis family home for dinner during the week.  

That Naitanui, Gaff and other close teammates Brad Sheppard, Luke Shuey, Josh Kennedy and Jack Darling were sporting commemorative ‘Bunga 300’ game t-shirts for a team meeting on Wednesday, also speaks of the man.

Hurn was a little bemused by the attention. His mates knew that which added to the fun.

The ever humble Hurn doesn’t enjoy the individual spotlight. His oft-quoted ‘we play for team success’, is no throw-away line. It’s everything to him.

But this week is all about him. A remarkable achievement from one of the Eagles greats.

Shannon Hurn milestones

Most Finals for the West Coast Eagles

Premiership Captains for West Coast

Most wins for West Coast

*During his AFL career, Hurn has flown an estimated 780,012km