In his 20th season of senior football, Ben Prentice won’t give up hope of winning a flag.
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He concedes the Jets will have their work cut out for them this year but a win over Marrar last Saturday - in Prentice’s 300th game - means there’s reason still to believe.
“We've got a pretty good team if we can get everyone going,” Prentice said.
“We won’t be too far off I think.
“We didn't play very well against East Wagga (in round five) - they done us pretty easy - but against The Rock (in round two) we matched them for most of the game.”
The 35-year old can be forgiven for hanging on to his dream, having missed out on premiership success throughout his career.
Ariah Park made the grand final in Prentice’s first year of senior football, 1997, under coach Brett Page but were beaten by The Rock-Yerong Creek in extra time.
Nearly a decade later, he had moved away when the Northern Jets were formed and won two flags in three seasons.
“I dodged them,” Prentice said.
“My four seasons away were the first four years of the merger and that's when they won their first couple of premierships.
“I come home and the team I played for down there won one the year after I left.”
That was Glenthomson-Dunkeld, in Western Victoria, where Prentice played 80 of his 300 games.
But the 35-year old says his father Jim was the biggest influence on his career, particularly in his early years.
And there was one player who was pretty handy at demonstrating how football was played.
“Rob Harper was running around for a fair bit of my earlier years and he’d be the best player that I’ve played with or against,” Prentice said.
“There’s been a lot of good ones but I’d have him on top.
Prentice has played most of his career in the backline and, like his coach Darren Jackson, reckons some things should never change.
“Just doing what you’re told and being accountable and watching your man,” he said.
“That seems to go out the window a lot these days. But it’s the one thing that I was always told.”
Prentice acknowledged the support of his wife Lucy and their three children in helping him continue on this long.
“The kids love it, Lucy and the kids have been a big part of it and it would’ve been hard without them,” he said.
But in an era of ever-younger teammates, it’s fellow veteran Stu Hutchins who might determine how long Prentice goes on.
“I’m still enjoying it and Stuey has got a year or two on me so while he’s still there, I’m not the only one,” Prentice said.
“Most of the other fellas disappeared in the last few years.”
The Jets chase their fourth win of the year away to Barellan on Saturday.
They’re sixth on the ladder but a win against the Two Blues could ensure they’ll be in the five at the halfway mark of the season, with four points guaranteed in round nine when they enjoy the bye.