Saturday afternoon’s Round 8 clash against the Saints at Metricon Stadium will be an opportunity to reflect for milestone man Sean Lemmens.

Lemmens will become the 15^th player to reach 100 AFL games for the SUNS and will share the occasion with teammate Brandon Ellis who will take the field for his 200^th AFL game.

Currently in his eighth season at the SUNS, Lemmens says there’s a great feeling within the Club and he believes the SUNS are taking great steps towards more on-field success.

“There have been learning times with such a young group,” Lemmens said.

“These last couple of years, you can see a lot of the learning that has happened, and we have a good group who always push each other.”

2021 has brought about a change of role for the 26-year-old, who has consistently been tasked with keeping clamps on the opposition’s best small forwards throughout the opening rounds.

In the last fortnight, Lemmens has brought a trademark aggression to the contest while holding Sydney livewire Tom Papley to one major and Collingwood danger Jordan de Goey goalless.

With an array of mentors to learn off in the SUNS defence, it’s the experienced Jarrod Harbrow who is providing plenty of learning steps both on and off the field for Lemmens.

“It’s been really good underneath mentors like Harbs. It’s been good for my game, I suppose simplifying my game and getting back to basics is what I’ve enjoyed,” Lemmens added.

“As a back six, we’re all pretty aggressive which has worked well.”

“(As an indigenous leader within the playing group) obviously I watch what Harbs does. With the mentoring, it’s hard not to follow by his lead but if I can be half the person he is off the field, I’ll be really, really happy.”

In a nice touch for the South Australian, his parents will be in the stands at Metricon Stadium for his 100^th game, as will his young daughter Rhaea.

While his debut in 2014 against Richmond has been the highlight of his career to date, Lemmens is hoping Saturday will provide a new moment to savour both himself and teammate Brandon Ellis.

“I’m lucky enough to share it (the milestone) with Brando,” Lemmens added.

“We’ve shown in the first seven rounds of the year that we’ve been very competitive, and we’ve picked up a couple of good results in the last couple of weeks.

“It’s not very often you get the chance to win three games in a row, so the boys are up and about and hopefully we can get that result.”