Regardless of the circumstances, and irrespective of time, it is always a little special for an AFL player to play against his former club.

Gold Coast SUNS midfielder Mitch Hallahan did precisely that for the first time against Hawthorn in Launceston on Saturday, and in a 53-point SUNS loss he took some consolation from a small personal triumph.

Hallahan, who played six games for the Hawks last year after being drafted by the club in 2010, posted a career-best 30 possessions.

The 22-year-old midfielder became the 13th SUNS player to play against his former club, and the third to head the SUNS possession count on this occasion.

Jared Brennan is the SUNS player best known for turning it on against his former club.

Brennan had 30 possessions in QClash 1 against the Brisbane Lions to win the inaugural Marcus Ashcroft Medal, and another 30 against the Lions in 2013, finishing at the top of his team’s disposal list both times.

They were the only two occasions on which he topped 30 possessions in 54 SUNS games.

Gary Ablett also took his former club Geelong for a team-high 31 possessions in his first meeting with them in 2011.

Among SUNS players, ex-Brisbane B&F winner Michael Rischitelli has played most often against his former club – seven.

Rischitelli, too, has had most wins against his former club – three.

Jarrod Harbrow is 2-3 against the Western Bulldogs, Danny Stanley is 2-3 against Collingwood, Ablett 1-3 against Geelong and Brennan was 1-5 against Brisbane.

Matthew Warnock, with a 1-1 split against Melbourne, is the only other SUNS player to have tasted success against his former club.

Other SUNS to have played against their former club without a win have been Nathan Bock (0-2 v Adelaide), Greg Broughton (0-2 v Fremantle), Campbell Brown (0-3 v Hawthorn), Daniel Harris (0-1 v North Melbourne), Sam Iles (0-2 v Collingwood), Tom Murphy (0-1 v Hawthorn) and now Hallahan (0-1 v Hawthorn).

Hallahan’s career-best haul on Saturday continued a rich vein of productivity for the ex-Victorian cadet boxing champion and Dandenong Stingrays TAC Cup co-captain.

Having spent two weeks in the Reserves after collecting 16-18-16 possessions in his first three games for the SUNS, he’s had 24-24-30 in the last three games against West Coast, Collingwood and Hawthorn.

Hallahan became the 11th SUNS player to have 30 possessions in a game, following Ablett (46 times), Dion Prestia (11), Bennell (6), Rischitelli (6), Harbrow (3), Jaeger O’Meara (3), Brennan (2), Stanley (2), David Swallow (2) and Harris (1).