It’s been a long road to 100 career games for SUNS defender Rory Thompson.

 The 27-year-old joined the club at its inception but has been delayed in getting to the century by continuous injuries since making his debut in 2011.

“I’ve been here a fair while now and ideally without injuries it would have been great to notch it up earlier,” Thompson told the media on Wednesday morning. 

“But I’m just glad the club’s given me this opportunity.

“Not many people get to do it in the lifetime of their career so yeah (I’m) very grateful.”

The local Southport product says he’s humbled to reach the milestone, but has bigger objectives on his radar. 

“Why we’re here is to win a premiership like every other AFL player,” Thompson said. 

“It’s a very hard thing to achieve, not many AFL players ever get there.

“I’ve gone 100 games without getting there, some go 300 games without ever getting there. 

“But I think the club is heading in the right direction and I’m looking forward to one day hopefully achieving that success here.”

Being one of the longest-serving SUNS, Thompson has experienced first-hand all the ups and downs of the club’s short history.

With that in mind, the key defender says fans should be optimistic about a successful future for the Gold Coast SUNS. 

“I don’t think I’d be hanging around if there was no chance of success so I’m very confident the club can get there,” Thompson said. 

“We saw what Richmond have done going from losing their last game by 100 points to winning the premiership the next year. 

“Things in football can change really quickly and I think there’s a good group here and we’ve got everything we need up here to have success.”