Port Adelaide defender Kane Farrell will line up for the 100th time in the AFL on Saturday afternoon, with his special milestone coinciding with ANZAC Appeal Round. 

The Castlemaine boy made his debut on a chilly day in Ballarat in 2018, and has made his mark on the club, penning a five-year contract extension last month. 

The 26-year-old spoke to the club media team about what this week means to him, how he looks back on his journey so far, and how special ANZAC Appeal Round is to the club. 

Farrell on 100 games 
“Yeah, it's obviously a big accomplishment for myself, and then also family with what they put in through junior foot. So it’s something I'll definitely look back on post footy as well. But this week, we'll definitely celebrate it as a family as well.  

“I think there will be (some pride there) once it's all kind of finished, and I’ll definitely acknowledge it a bit more. But yeah, I’m just grateful for where I've come from and to get to this stage. You just want to play one game when you get drafted. So to get to that 100 mark is something special, and definitely something it'll be pretty proud of when I finish up.” 

Farrell on who will support him at the game 
“Not too sure at this stage, definitely, Mum and Dad will try get some mates over if I can, but they'll be playing local footy as well. But as many people as I can.” 

Farrell on moving from forward to back 
“I did play a lot of junior footy down back, so coming to Port and then getting put up forward, it was quite new for me. So I just tried my best down there, really. And then when the opportunity came to go down back and see how we went down there and try something new, it kind of worked a bit better for me. And since then, I don't think we've really looked back since, and it's definitely something that’s helped my career grow to that next level. 

“For myself, it's a lot better when the game’s in front of you. I feel I play a lot better when I'm like that instead of getting the ball kicked you, I like kicking the ball to people. So I feel like at the moment, I’m in a pretty comfortable space of where we're at and where I'm at as a footballer. Still places to grow, but it's definitely something where it's definitely made my career better.” 

Farrell on his debut game 
“It was freezing. It was Ballarat, which was good. It's only 40-odd minutes from where I grew up, so we got a lot of people down there for my first game, which was good, but yeah, it was cold. It was beanies on the bench. It was big winter jackets on the bench. I think we even had hand warmers going at one stage. So it was definitely an experience. But it was just great to be out there and play footy. I think there's a photo of Pep (Sam Powell-Pepper) or someone standing on the bench with a big trench coat on and a beanie on, waiting to get back on.” 

Farrell on how things have changed around him since his debut game 
“Yeah, it's funny because you look like back on it now, of who's left at the club, kind of when I got here, and there's not too many, even for myself, and I'm not too old around the club yet. But it is showing that we're growing up but it is also a good sign that we're still a young group and we’ve still got a lot to develop.” 

Farrell on his recent five-year contract extension 
“Yeah, things that made (the decision) simple just how well of a connected group we are off the field with myself and also my partner, she's got a lot of great mates now through other partners at the club, and we're both pretty well set up outside of football, which definitely made it a lot more simple to make that decision. Life's pretty good at the moment for us.” 

Farrell on coming back from a serious knee injury in 2022 
“Yeah, obviously it wasn't great at the time doing it, but it gave me opportunity to kind of look back on why we play footy and why I play footy, and how much you just miss even getting out there and training. So to sit on the sideline and watch, I think it was over half a season, it was quite tough. So when I could get back and run and train again, I just tried to embrace what we do and just love what I do every day, because you do take it for granted sometimes, and when it does get taken away from it, it's pretty boring.” 

Farrell on Todd Marshall’s rehab 
“He's going really well at the moment. I think he's pretty close to maybe getting a little run in soon, which is exciting. Obviously, pretty close mates with him and we talk a fair bit. So for him, he just wants to sit back out there and just be around the boys out in the field, really. You do get quite lonely in the gym by yourself, but he's really just looking forward to just getting outside and running around the oval and watching us train a bit more, he'll just love getting out there with everyone.” 

Farrell on ANZAC Appeal Round 
“I think it's a round we celebrate quite well as a group and as a club. I think we've held it here now for over 20 years. So it's something definitely we pride ourselves on as a football club, and we do a lot of things outside of football as well, with the ADF programs as well. So it's definitely a round that we have in the calendar that we want to perform our best in and show what we are as a club and what we represent really well.”