Dangerfield keen to play on as 19th season approaches

Geelong captain Patrick Dangerfield has declared that he is in no rush to hang up the boots yet as he nears his 19th season in the AFL.

With Travis Boak’s retirement last year, the 35-year-old is now the second-highest amongst active players for games played, with 360 games for the Cats and Adelaide.

And with his contract finishing at the end of the year, there has been some speculation about what he’ll do beyond this season.

But Dangerfield has stated that while his form is good, he wants to continue playing in the AFL.

"In terms of my future, I want to keep playing, I love the club...but as always, it is form dependent,” he told the Daily Mail.

“Footy isn't a daily grind for me, so I'm not (exactly) in a rush to move on.

“I'm (also) looking forward to seeing some guys who have trained well (in the pre-season) be handed an opportunity.”

Should he play beyond this year and maintain his career average of 20 games per season, Dangerfield will be capable of reaching the 400-game mark during the 2027 season.

If he does, he would become the first player to have played for either Geelong or Adelaide to reach the milestone.

This would also see the 2016 Brownlow Medallist become the seventh player in V/AFL history to do so.

Dangerfield will be playing in the AFL's State of Origin match for Victoria against Western Australia on February 14.

The Cats’ official pre-season game takes place on February 25 when they play Carlton at IKON Park.

Their first game of the home and away season will be during Opening Round when they head north to play the Gold Coast Suns at People First Stadium on March 6.