Peak Paddy: Ten of the best Patrick Dangerfield moments

Patrick Dangerfield in action in 2016, 2014 and 2025. Pictures: AFL Photos

ONE OF the greats of the modern game, Patrick Dangerfield, will reach another milestone on Friday night when he becomes just the 25th footballer to play 350 VFL/AFL games.

From Moggs Creek to Adelaide and back to Victoria's Surf Coast, Dangerfield's list of memorable moments is a long one.

To celebrate, we've dug into our video archive to pick out 10 of his best moments – five of his best games and five of his best goals (plus one more for fun) – ahead of his milestone game against Brisbane.

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Five of Dangerfield's best games

5) v Port Adelaide, R15 2014

Dangerfield's only Showdown Medal came two years earlier, but he also blitzed Port when the teams met in round 15, 2014. He kicked a trademark goal in the first quarter, speeding out of a centre bounce to convert from long range. Dangerfield finished with 32 disposals, 12 score involvements, and seven clearances (six from the centre) in the Crows' 23-point win.

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4) v Essendon, R16 2021

A vintage Dangerfield performance spearheaded the Cats to a season-shaping 41-point win over Essendon. Coming off a long layoff with an ankle injury, the Brownlow medallist was back to his scintillating best in just his fourth game since returning. Dangerfield's starring performance included 37 disposals, 11 marks, 11 clearances and a brilliant long-range goal that lifted the Cats off the canvas after the Bombers got the jump on them early. He had to battle with gun forward Tom Hawkins, who kicked six goals, for best-afield honours, but this was Dangerfield at his very best.

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3) v Hawthorn, R1 2016

It was a Geelong debut to remember for Dangerfield on Easter Monday in 2016. The midfielder made an instant impression for the Cats with 43 disposals, 21 contested possessions, seven clearances and five tackles in a 30-point win over old foe Hawthorn. If Dangerfield had kicked accurately – he finished with 0.3 including a miss after a big mark – it would have been a performance for the ages.

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2) v North Melbourne, R12 2016

Just a few months into his first season at the Cattery, Dangerfield had the ball on a string when he amassed an incredible 48 touches in Geelong's 31-point win over North Melbourne. But it wasn't just his ball-winning ability that set him apart that day. Dangerfield finished with 10 centre clearances, 11 inside 50s and two goals in a dominant performance. His 48 touches remains a career-best for the evergreen Cat, while the haul matched the best-ever possession tally by a Cats player, tying with Peter Featherby's effort in 1981.

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1) v Hawthorn, R17 2017

Dangerfield looked done for the day when he was carted from the ground with what looked to be a serious foot injury in the first quarter of the Cats' clash with rival Hawthorn. But the superstar resurrected himself, returning in a now-familiar deep forward 50 role to turn the game on its head. Despite playing on one leg, Dangerfield monstered the Hawks' famed defence to finish with an incredible 5.6 return for the afternoon. His day out also included 12 marks, 15 score involvements and 20 touches.

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Five of Dangerfield's best goals

5) v North Melbourne, R1 2015

If he wasn't bursting out of the centre to kick a goal from outside 50, Dangerfield was finding another way to hit the scoreboard. In a thrashing of North Melbourne in round one, 2015, he showed just how. Dangerfield won a centre clearance and aimed his kick at Taylor Walker, who was unable to mark. But it was Dangerfield who would gather the loose ball 50 metres out before breaking a tackle, speeding away and converting brilliantly on his left.

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4) v Western Bulldogs, R13 2016

Dangerfield's numbers in this round 13 clash with the Western Bulldogs were astronomical. Continuing his brilliant form in his first season at the Cats, he racked up game-highs for disposals (37), inside 50s (12) and score involvements (10), as well as having 19 contested possessions, seven tackles, eight clearances and two goals. The second of those majors was typical Dangerfield, running onto a loose ball from a hitout and nailing a 50m bomb from near the boundary line.

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3) v Western Bulldogs, R9 2017

Dangerfield hasn't lost his ability to kick incredible goals, and one of his best came against the Bulldogs in round nine, 2017. He was first to gather a loose ball just inside 50 on the boundary line midway through the first quarter. It's no surprise what happened next. With Bailey Williams closing him down, Dangerfield kicked a brilliant goal on his left foot from the boundary line.

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2) v Fremantle, R3, 2011

A shrugged tackle, a handball, three bounces and a 50m bullet, Dangerfield's goal against Fremantle in 2011 had it all. Having received a handball at half-back, Dangerfield muscled his way past Adam McPhee – no easy task – and dished off a handball before hitting the accelerator through the middle of Football Park. Having burned off Stephen Hill, he sprinted away, steadied just outside the arc and drilled home a superb goal.

Patrick Dangerfield runs away from Stephen Hill in R3, 2011. Picture: AFL Photos

1) v Hawthorn, semi-final, 2015

Adelaide's 2015 semi-final against Hawthorn didn't pan out as planned, but the Crows' superstar midfielder did everything he could to stop the eventual premiers. In what turned out to be his final game for Adelaide, Dangerfield's first-quarter goal remains an enduring moment from his career. In the right forward pocket, Dangerfield came from three deep to grab a deflected kick above his head before steadying to stay in bounds, pivoting and kicking a sensational goal with the outside of his right foot. He finished the day with 29 disposals in a heavy defeat, his final game before moving to the Cats.

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And one more for fun ...

v Geelong, R1 2014

In the opening round of the 2014 season, with whispers already circulating that Dangerfield would soon return to his home state to play for the Cats, the Crows star gave the Cattery a sign of what was soon to come. He pounced on a long Steve Johnson handball ahead of Joel Selwood, had no trouble breaking a tackle from the Cats great before drilling a tremendous finish with his right foot from hard up against the boundary line.

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