Bulldogs veteran forward Mick Campton adds another accolade to his career on Saturday, playing his 200th grade game for the Kurri Kurri Bulldogs.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Campton played his 300th grade game last year, but 122 of those were with Cessnock. His tally at Kurri Kurri includes 162 first grade games and on recent form there’s more to come.
It’s a whole family affair at the Bulldogs with sons Darcy 8 and Oliver 6 now playing and his wife Bec involved behind the scenes. Campton has taken a bigger role off the field organising club merchandise and playing a key part in the running of the annual Kurri Nines.
“I’ve done the behind scenes stuff for a few years now. It started off when Jeff Polglase (former club secretary) asked if I could give him a hand with some stuff,” he said.
“Once I finish playing I will have a bit of a rest and then I’ll get involved in the club in some other way.
“I’m just playing it game by game, year by year at the moment.”
Training hard has been the key to his longevity after some words of wisdom from Daniel Abraham.
The 2018 Bulldogs are taking a similar tack and lead the competition as a result.
“I think we’ve all had a bit of an attitude change and probably a little bit of self belief,” Campton said.
“It’s a similar side to what we had last year, we’ve added four or five players, but the improvement has come from that attitude change to training, preparation and games.
“We turn up for each other every week and I think that comes down to the hard work we’ve put in and wanting to work hard for each other.
“I’m enjoying playing. It’s a good place to be around, all the young blokes and us older blokes we’re all a pretty tight unit.
“It’s like a family, there’s a lot of the players all through the grades who have got kids, they all come to training, they all come to the games. It’s great for the newer blokes like Sam (Wooden) and Jade (Porter) who have got kids.
