Adelaide Crows' Isaac Cumming to mark 100 games in Hawthorn match

Running out for his 100th game at a packed Adelaide Oval against Hawthorn tonight will be a "surreal" moment for Isaac Cumming — better known to his mates as "Cheese".

Making the moment even more special, he will be there alongside his childhood idol Taylor "Tex" Walker, who is now his Adelaide Crows teammate.

It is a far cry from Broken Hill's Picton Oval, where he trained with Walker as a 14-year-old during the older Crows player's off-season break.

Taylor Walker (left) and Isaac Cumming both grew up playing for the North Broken Hill Bulldogs. (Supplied: AFC Media)

"He's been massive, that sort of mentorship slash idolism stems back a long, long way," Cumming said.

It was "always a dream" to play in the AFL, and the now 26-year-old wingman is one of four players from the outback mining city to make it to 100 games.

Cumming will also join the likes of former Essendon Bombers premiership player Dean Solomon, and former West Coast Eagles and Brisbane Lions player Brent Staker.

Adelaide signals its arrival as a genuine AFL flag contender Photo shows Jordan Dawson holds his arms out to his side with another man placing a hand on his head and shoulder Adelaide has soared into premiership contention as one of the in-form teams late in the AFL season. Winning seven of their last eight games, the Crows are perfectly placed for a September charge.

"It's an honour to be mentioned in the same conversation as some of those guys," he said.

"They've achieved a lot more in the game than I have."

Cumming would prefer the attention to be on the Crows' match with Hawthorn, rather than his 100th.

"Everyone's focus is just going to be on a nice team win and not individual milestones, which is the way I like it," he said.

But he did admit it was "pretty cool" to see how far he had come.

"There's a lot of people that helped me get here, which I'm super grateful for," Cumming said.

Big things from little things grow

Cumming always hoped to play professionally, but it was not until the age of 18 that he thought it might be a real possibility.

Some of Isaac Cumming's favourite memories are playing in the blue and white for North Broken Hill. (Supplied: Melissa Cumming)

Drafted by the GWS Giants at pick 20 in the 2016 draft, it has not been a straightforward route to the 100-game milestone.

Cumming played just 10 games in his first five seasons.

"I was a pretty raw kid … [I had] to put on a lot of weight and actually be able to run out a game of footy, which took a few pre-seasons to do," he said.

But that hard work has paid off, and he has played 90 games in the last five seasons.

'Memorable and special'

Cumming will have support from home at tonight's game, with his family travelling from Broken Hill to witness his milestone.

His father Brett Cumming, who has not missed a single Crows home game this season, said it would be "something memorable and special."

"I may or may not hold it together," he admitted, adding he "might need a beach towel" to mop up the torrent of tears he expected to shed.

And in Far West NSW, friends and former teammates will cheer on the man they call "Cheese" at North Broken Hill Football Club.

It is a place of special memories for the milestone man.

"Some of my favourite nights I've ever had is just being at the footy club on a Saturday night," Cumming said.

"Getting around those old boys like Jayden Kelly, Matt Garrick, Bolace, Cody Howard … those are guys I've looked up to since I was 10 to 11 years old."

Among those driving down to cheer Cumming on will be childhood friend and former teammate Nash Mitchell.

Isaac Cumming (left) and Nash Mitchell as teenagers tackling a South Broken Hill player. (Supplied)

"To achieve 100 games ... [is] a great achievement," he said.

It did not surprise Mr Mitchell to hear his friend had deflected attention away from his 100th game and onto a team win.

"It's never about him, he's so humble," he said.

"He's a very caring friend off the field and, yeah, he looks after his teammates on the field as well.

"Growing up, he was a captain of most of our teams, and you can tell through his personality."

As for Brett Cumming, while he is looking forward to celebrating his son's milestone, he is more proud of the man the 26-year-old has become.

"I'm more proud of who he is than what he does," he said.

"[Despite] being involved in that professional sport level, he hasn't lost sight of who he is and where he comes from."

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