SUNS newcomer Jack Hombsch will take a look at the 2019 AFL fixture when it is released early next month and think to himself “where to next?”

Hombsch will take special interest to see if the SUNS are drawn to play in North Queensland in the knowledge that if so, it may well catapult him into an irrevocable place in AFL history.

Traded from Port Adelaide to the Gold Coast last week, Hombsch will move north already owning the extraordinary AFL record among for playing at most different venues.

He chalked up his 20^th different venue and the outright record in Round 19 this year when Port played at Eureka Stadium in Ballarat.

This put him one venue ahead of two players with whom he had shared the record – St.Kilda 383-game games record holder Robert Harvey, and Essendon/Hawthorn 324-gamer Paul Salmon.

Remarkably, Hombsch, who heads a field of more than tens of thousands of AFL players over 121 years, reached 20 different AFL venues in his 95^thgame and his seventh season. Harvey played 21 seasons and Salmon 20.

The problem for Hombsch is that he’s almost out of venues.

Cazaly’s Stadium in Cairns is the only one on the 2018 AFL fixture where he has not played.

The SUNS have played in Cairns every year since their introduction to the AFL in 2011, but there are no guarantees yet they will be back in 2019.

There is every chance, though, that Hombsch will find a 21^st venue in north Queensland one way or the other in the next two years.

This follows an announcement by Queensland Tourism and Major Events Minister Kate Jones in October 2017 that Cairns and Townsville would host AFL premiership matches “into the future”.

At the time Ms Jones confirmed the 2018 match in Cairns and guaranteed a match for Townsville in 2019 or 2020.

The Townsville experiment at Riverway Stadium, or Tony Ireland Stadium, follows three AFL pre-season games at the venue featuring the SUNS against North Melbourne (2013), Brisbane (2014) and Geelong (2017).

Remarkably, Hombsch played at a different venue in each of his first games in his first season in 2012 – Stadium Australia in Sydney, Bellerive Oval in Hobart, Blacktown in Sydney, Football Park in Adelaide, Manuka Oval in Canberra, Docklands Stadium in Melbourne, the MCG, Metricon Stadium and the Sydney Showgrounds.

And his first game in 2013 was at Marrara Stadium in Darwin. It was 10 for 10.

He added Adelaide Oval, Traeger Park in Alice Springs, the SCG and Subiaco Oval in Perth to his travel log in 2014, and the Gabba in 2015. He was 46 games for 15 different venues.

In 2017 he was part of the AFL’s journey to Jiangwan Stadium in China, ironically playing for Port against the Gold Coast, and a fortnight later he made his first trip to Kardinia Park at Geelong.

This year he added the new Perth Stadium and York Park in Launceston to equal the Harvey/Salmon record, before his trek to Ballarat put him above tens of thousands of players over 122 years of VFL/AFL football.

His frequent flyer points are beyond counting, and according to data supplied before his visit to Ballarat he had travelled 129,843km - more than 35,000km above the average player of the same experience.

Interestingly, SUNS pair Jarrod Harbrow and Aaron Young are on the third line of this list, having played at 18 different venues.

But Hombsch is much more than a freaky trivia question.

He’s also much more than a 25-year-old 98-game defender who will be a big asset to the defensive unit at his third AFL club after starting with the GWS Giants in 2012 and playing at Port from 2013-17.

Described by Port coach Ken Hinkley as “an outstanding young man who can play on smalls and talls,” he is a footballer with an enormous commitment to club culture and the betterment of others.

Younger than he might look, Hombsch has life experience far beyond his years.  And something very special to show for it.

In 2017 he won the prestigious Jim Stynes Community Leadership Award.

It is an award rated so highly among the AFL community that it is presented each year on Brownlow Medal night, and has also been won by Neville Jetta (2018), Jimmy Bartel (2016), Dennis Armfield (2015), Beau Waters (2014), Zac Smith (2013) and Daniel Jackson (2012).

It was a case of third time lucky for Hombsch, who was among the four finalists in 2015 and 2016 in recognition of his outstanding work with young people with an intellectual disability.

Inspired by his younger brother Todd, who lives with Down Syndrome, Hombsch has been a positive role model and ambassador across various organisations, and was heavily involved in leading the Power's playing group's charity initiatives.

He is an inspirational type, declaring at the time of his recognition “I don’t believe in the idea of ‘disability’”. 

"To me, five years spent working with various groups has shown me that everyone in our community has talents and skills that have meaning and value.

"The men, women and children that many groups serve in the community are deserving of dignity, respect and a chance to participate fully in activities and programs many of us take for granted.

"Having the chance to play AFL football is a rare privilege offered to just a few, and I believe that players have a chance to make a real contribution to their community beyond their feats on the field. 

"I hope the small impact I can have working with these groups can enrich the experience of some of the most remarkable people I’ve had the honour of meeting over these past five years."

Discussing Hombsch’s trade to the SUNS, his manager Matt Bain said he had other options but chose Gold Coast in part because of the opportunity to build a positive culture among a young playing group.

“He’s really big on that and given the SUNS’ situation he can go up there and have a real impact on the kids,” he said.

Hombsch is also a two-time winner of Port Adelaide’s John McCarthy Award, which similarly recognises community work and is named after the former Port and Collingwood player who died following an accidental fall in Las Vegas in 2012.

Hombsch is a product of Roxby Downs in South Australia’s Far North Football League and the prestigious Rostrevor College in Adelaide, which counts among its alumni inaugural Brisbane Bears chairman and actor Paul Cronin, internationally acclaimed actor Anthony LaPaglia, singer Paul Kelly and, at the top of a long list of AFL players, Jared Crouch, Luke Darcy, Ben Hart and Tom Jonas.

He played with Sturt in the SANFL and was a an access selection with GWS ahead of their 2012 entry to the AFL.

On 24 March 2012, aged 19, he was one of 17 AFL debutants in the very first GWS side that played the Sydney Swans at Stadium Australia. He had 18 disposals in a 63-point loss.

He played nine games in 2012 before being lured to Port in 2013, where on a year by year basis he played 6-24-22-10-13-14 games.

He played three finals in 2014, had a standout 2015 when he was third in the club best & fairest behind Robbie Gray and  Chad Wingard, and kicked his only goal in his 84^th game against Adelaide in 2017.

He also boasts a career-best 20 one-percenters in a game which only three players in AFL history have bettered – Brisbane’s Harris Andrews (25), ex-Port teammate Dougal Howard (22 and 21) and ex-North and Hawthorn defender Josh Gibson (21).

Like Hombsch, Andrews, ex-Brisbane fullback Daniel Merrett (twice) and Essendon fullback Michael Hartley have also had 20 one-percenters, which are categorised as spoils, smothers, shepherds and knock-ons.