THE last captain of now defunct Newport Central Football Club is set to notch his 500th game in the Western Region Football League.
Dennis Lazaridis has been around the traps long enough to know "anything could happen" when his current club Sunshine Heights takes to the field in his milestone game against bottom-of-the-ladder West Footscray Roosters in the division 1 reserves on Saturday.
The Heights will head into the battle as hot favourites, but Lazaridis is not counting his chickens before they hatch. "I'm confident," he says.
"They're playing at home and will want to get a win so that's something you've got to watch."
Lazaridis has lived the highs and the lows of local football in a career spanning three decades.
He first pulled on a guernsey 35 years ago as an eight-year-old in the juniors with Newport Central.
He had the opportunity to play alongside North Melbourne premiership player Mick Martyn during his 287-game senior career with Centrals.
Lazaridis has some fond memories with his first club. He experienced some down times as well.
"They're my best memories," he says.
"All my mates played at Newport.
"We all had a good bond until the club folded."
Lazaridis will never forget winning a division 3 flag with Centrals.
That was the highlight of his long career.
"1995 was a very good year for us.
"Most of the boys played together for quite a while at Newport.
"We basically got to grand finals all the time at junior level and then we progressed to senior level.
"A lot of the boys stayed together and that's one of the things that sticks in my mind about winning that grand final."
Lazaridis' career low point also occurred at Newport.
As club captain, he was on the verge of becoming the first player in the club's history to reach the 300-game milestone.
That chance was scuppered when the then Footscray District Football League controversially banned the club from the competition.
The senior arm of the club never recovered and disbanded. "That club was my heart and soul and I have a lot of memories from it," he says.
"We had the good times and the bad times of course.
"That probably was the worst time of my life because I was coming up for 300 games at the club and noone had done that before.
"A couple of idiots thought about themselves more than the club and caused a lot of trouble.
"They went berserk and the club got suspended from the league. It destroyed the whole club."
After Newport, Lazaridis went on to play with Central Altona, Seddon, Moonee Valley and North Footscray before landing at the Heights.
His individual claim to fame was three consecutive best-and-fairest with Central Altona, and he was once runner-up in the league best-and-fairest.
The 43-year-old will hang up the boots at season's end to support his son in under-18s.
Football has returned to his home town with the Newport Power taking its place in the WRFL juniors.
The Power is believed to be aiming for a 2015 return to the senior ranks.
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