Bartholomew to reach 150 games with West PerthThursday, August 15, 2013 - 2:22 AM - by Chris Pike

RAY Bartholomew reaches 150 WAFL games with West Perth this Sunday against East Fremantle in what he rates as his best personal achievement but all his focus remains on trying to experience premiership glory with the Falcons.

Bartholomew made his league debut at West Perth in 2004 before cementing his place in the side the following year and by 2006 he had become the most effective tagger in the game before having the shackles released for him to become one of the most damaging wingmen in the competition.

Over his 149 matches, Bartholomew has been a two-time runner-up in the Breckler Medal and represented Western Australia in 2011 while also booking his name onto the No. 25 locker, but now by reaching 150 games he rates it as the personal highlight of his career to date.

"Obviously our ultimate goal is to try and win a premiership but at this stage of my career getting to 150 games is something that is very huge for me, and something that I will look upon when I finally retire whenever that day may be," Bartholomew said.

"That sits up there definitely as my career highlight and aside from that I would chuck in a couple of runner-up best and fairests and being part of history by playing at the MCG in the Foxtel Cup which is something we may never achieve again.

"I have been trying not to think about it too much, but it is very exciting to become a life member of this footy club and to be part of the history of this great football club.

"I think there has only been 20 or 30 guys who have played over 150 games so to get my name amongst all of their names is something that I'm very proud of. A lot of them are greats of the footy club and even to just be amongst is very humbling and a huge honour."

A calf injury mid-season has meant that Bartholomew gets to the 150-game mark a few weeks later than he expected, but that's turned out quite well in the end with his milestone turning out to be a home clash at Arena Joondalup against East Fremantle.

He is hoping that West Perth's run of outs in milestone matches comes to an end on Sunday though.

"I remember looking at the fixtures at the start of the year and my 150th looked like being down in Mandurah against Peel but then I got injured and it was shaping up as the East Fremantle game being the day, and I thought that would be all right," he said.

"It's nice to be at home and play in front of the home crowd, but most importantly for us and me is for the boys to continue our winning form and get the win first, and then I will think about my 150th after the game.

"We haven’t really done too well with milestone games, we always tend to lose. I was fortunate when myself and Dan Hunt got a win in our 100th games, but we lost Guady's 150th, Slick's 150th, Jase's 200th and for some reason we don’t seem to do well with milestones. I'm hoping we have a bit of luck now on Sunday to change that trend to have a win.

"The milestones that mean a lot to me, though, were for guys like Brendon Fewster, Glenn Britten and the Curley brothers because I was just starting out then and they were champions of the club.

"To be part of your mates' milestones is special, but to there for guys who I only got to play with for a couple of years really means a lot to be part of something that you can never be part of again. They have all since moved on and it's been seven or eight years since they last play so to be part of something special to them means a lot."

Bartholomew first really came to prominence as a WAFL player of note with his tagging jobs on some of the best midfielders in the competition and he has no doubt that the players he learned from helped him developing the attacking side of his game that is now shining out.

"Over the years, I played on some Sandover Medallists and ex-AFL players and a Brownlow Medallist," Bartholomew said.

"Shane Woewodin was one I had the honour of playing on numerous occasions and the same with Ross Young, Jaxon Crabb, Rory O'Brien and then more recently there's been Kane Mitchell who has been promoted up to the AFL.

"They are all different types of players so you get to know how to play on the in-and-under players and the outside running ones, and for myself it keeps me in good stead to become a better player."

It was Todd Curley who first put Bartholomew into the tagging roles when he was coach before Bill Monaghan continued it with him until releasing him out onto the wing in recent seasons.

"Todd Curley had a huge part in that because as a young bloke I was in and out of the league team, but he suggested trying me in a tagging role and I thought I could do it because I believed I could sacrifice my own game for the team, and run with the opposition's best player," he said.

"Then Bill came and I continued playing on the best players and you learn a lot from them because they know where to go to find the footy and how to get the footy. Not to say that tagging is easy, but you are just running with them and trying to stop their influence, and at the same time learn how to read the play more and what spots to get to.

"Then all of a sudden, you are finding the ball yourself and those guys who I've played against have been the best players in the competition and they taught me a lot. I'm obviously not the tagger anymore and young Steve Potente has that job now, but I've always told Bill that I will always put my hand up to do the role again if I have to."