For nearly 15 years after he finally had some company in the "400 Club", Richmond champion Kevin Bartlett used to joke that he and Hawthorn great Michael Tuck could hold their annual gathering in a phone box.
Suddenly, in 2015, membership doubled, when Essendon's Dustin Fletcher and North Melbourne's Brent Harvey joined the throng, then three years ago another Hawk, Shaun Burgoyne. And on Saturday, Collingwood's Scott Pendlebury makes it six.
That phone box is now at least a small meeting room, but Pendlebury might as well lock the door behind him, because the elite half-dozen won't be joined by anyone else soon.
Travis Boak and Tom Hawkins could get there if they played another two seasons, but Boak turns 36 on Thursday, Hawkins did so a couple of weeks ago, and the next three players on the list, Patrick Dangerfield, Todd Goldstein and Steele Sidebottom, are too far away from the mark given their ages.
It's not unreasonable to suggest Pendlebury could be the last 400-game player ever. And if that were the case, arguably the most striking thing about the feted group beyond merely their longevity is the similarity of the images conjured upon the mention of their names.
Yes, Fletcher aside, all have spent the bulk of their careers as on-ballers. But the common denominator is more that their highlight reels, perhaps with the exception of Kevin Bartlett, are a catalogue of consistency more than a collection of memorable moments.
The "go-to" for Bartlett, probably the most consistent big occasion player the game has ever seen, is usually his incredible 1980 finals series, when at the age of 33 and playing as a permanent half-forward, he cut a swathe through three opposition backlines to kick tallies of six, eight and on grand final day seven goals, an amazing total of 21 goals in three games.
But if I think of the other five, I find it harder to isolate this or that incident from a particular game, unlike Gary Ablett senior, Wayne Carey, Tony Lockett or more recently, Dustin Martin.
Is that a negative? Not at all. In fact, it merely strengthens the perception of the team player, and in Pendlebury's case, a creator of highlights for others, the original source of so many of Collingwood's finest moments over what is now nearly two decades.
Pendlebury's junior basketball background has long been a cliché and the source of much amusement, but it really is central to the unhurried, cool-headed capacity to find time and space, then pick the right delivery option, which has marked his entire career.
It explains the "sameishness" of so much Pendlebury vision. There's only so many ways a good driver in heavy traffic can extract themselves from the maze of bodies, a traffic jam which has reached peak congestion during much of his career.
He's done it week in, week out for so long now that one loping run out of the centre square tends to merge into another in the mind's eye. And you want a different plane of game to game consistency? Consider this. In 2015, Pendlebury became the first player to have recorded a 60-game streak of 20-plus disposals.
But that metronomic performance level and the inherent danger of being taken for granted that accompanies it certainly hasn't equated to a lack of recognition, as Pendlebury's six All-Australian gongs and five best and fairests, equal second only to Nathan Buckley, will testify. Indeed, Pendlebury is one case where the quality of the body of work is perhaps better represented by the numbers than by the vision.
Consider this, for example, courtesy of the AFL's historian. The dual premiership player and Norm Smith medallist, in 18 completed seasons, has finished either first, second or third in the Copeland Trophy for Collingwood's best player no fewer than 14 times.
That's one of the best three of 40-odd players on the list 14 times out of 18. In the history of league football, only champion Footscray and North Melbourne ruckman Gary Dempsey has more best and fairest podium finishes. And 10 of Pendlebury's best and fairest placings have been earned in Collingwood finals seasons.
That consistently high performance has been noted by the All-Australian selectors as well. As well as his six selections in the team of the year, Pendlebury has been named in the extended squad another five times. That 11 nominations in total is second only to Lance Franklin, who earned 12.
Now let's talk specific big occasions. Pendlebury has played in 31 finals. In 22 of those, more than two-thirds, he has been named among Collingwood's best half-dozen players.
Grand finals? He's been in five (including the 2010 replay, for which he won the Norm Smith Medal). He was adjudged fourth in the 2011 Norm Smith voting, and sixth last year (at the age of 35) when after compiling only 13 possessions until three-quarter time, he had11 in the final term, arguably the most important player on the ground in the Pies' final 30-minute push towards a 16th premiership.
When we did our "Mount Rushmore" series on ESPN last summer, selecting who we thought were the four most pivotal players in terms of legacy for each club, it was when I sat down and carefully scrolled through Pendlebury's CV that the sheer volume of his achievements struck me.
It was reassuring this week when even one of the champion's contemporaries as both a player and long-time coach, another Collingwood great, thought similarly. In Nathan Buckley's case, the penny truly dropped when he watched Pendlebury rack up another 30 disposals and two goals against Adelaide in Round 10.
"I was sitting in the stands with my young fella just watching him go about his business and it just dawned on me that we were witnessing a player who is one of the most consistent players that's ever played the game," Buckley told AFL Media.
"It's an underrated trait, consistency, but he's also played at an elite level for nearly the entirety of that time ... there hasn't been a player who's contributed as much for as long as he has in my view, and that makes him the best Pie that's ever played the game."
That's a huge endorsement coming from a man about whom many Collingwood fans might think similarly, along with league football's second-highest goalkicker, Gordon Coventry.
You can debate their order, but there can't be anyone left in football now who'd dispute that Pendlebury, as he has been so often, is at least on the podium. Perhaps appropriately, too, on the occasion of this huge milestone, even that he has achieved almost by stealth.
You can read more of Rohan Connolly's work at FOOTYOLOGY