The AFL Premiership nowadays is undoubtedly one of the most physical sports on the planet, the combination of cardio, anaerobic capacity, skill and toughness put it squarely on the world stage of professional fooball codes. 

Despite this, players are managing to have longer careers, playing well into their 30s.

Much like a crisp bottle of Savvy B, some elite players are getting better with age.  

Get ready to delve into an esteemed group of footy elder statesmen who hold the record as the oldest listed players to take to a VFL/AFL field.

It is worth noting, if a couple of players from present day can hang on a few extra years, they could find themselves in this list. However, it does seem that the overall record at 43-years and 50 days will stand the test of time and never be broken. We say that now, but stranger things have happened!

So, who are the oldest ever AFL players to have stepped onto the field? Let’s find out!

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Oldest Ever AFL Players

1. Vic Cumberland – 43 years, 50 days

Playing footy well into your forties currently sounds absurd! But Vic Cumberland played way back in 1898 when he debuted for Melbourne before moving to St Kilda in 1902.

It was the first of three stints at the Saints, where he went to cross over to South Australia to play for Sturt in 1909. It was a short but impactful stint as he was later named in the Sturt team of the century.

Cumberland left to serve in World War 1 in 1916, and when he returned to Australia in 1919, he re-joined St Kilda for the 1920 season after recovering from his injuries. He retired at the end of that season aged forty-three as the oldest ever player to play in a VFL/ AFL game.

2. Dustin Fletcher – 40 years, 23 days

The only modern-day player to play past the age of forty, the Bombers legend's durability was a remarkable sight.

The skinny key defender with a booming right foot made his debut for the Bombers when he was still a schoolboy but finished his career with teenage sons walking out by his side in his last game in 2015.

He was the third player in VFL/AFL history to reach the 400-game milestone.

3. Jack Leith – 39 years, 296 days

After a six year, two club career in the VFA, Jack Leith forged out a 133-game career at the Demons. He topped the goalkicking charts five times for the Dees and won a flag in 1900.

He initially retired at the conclusion of the 1908 season but returned in 1911 when Melbourne was struggling for a further two seasons. He retired for good at the end of 1912 aged 39-years old.

4. Syd Barker Sr – 39 years, 239 days

The Barker name is synonymous with the North Melbourne Football Club. It is the name that is bestowed on the clubs best-and-fairest award.

But would you believe that Syd Barker sr, despite playing 161 games for North Melbourne in the VFA, played the majority of his VFL career for Essendon! Scandalous.

He played fifty-seven games across three years for Essendon from 1921-1924 before playing his final year back at North Melbourne. Playing his last game as a 39-year-old as a player-coach.

5. Jim Flynn – 39 years, 181 days

Jim Flynn enjoyed a distinguished career across two clubs, Geelong, and Carlton.

The ruckman played a solitary game for Collingwood in the VFA before going across to Geelong in 1897 where he played seventy-two games over five seasons.

He crossed to Carlton in 1903 and led the Blues to their first two premierships as captains in 1906 and 1907. He relinquished the captaincy the following year and was not used by the Blues up until finals time, where Flynn would play his part in the clubs first three-peat.

He played his final game in 1910 for Carlton in the Semi-Final after three players were accused of tanking. To this day, he is the oldest player in VFL/AFL history to play a finals game.

So there you have it, the oldest 5 AFL players of all time.

6. Ted Rowell – 39 years, 95 days

Ted Rowell played 189 games for Collingwood across 14 seasons and won three premierships in 1902, 1903 and 1910. He came to the VFL via the Western Australian goldfields, where he had spent five years in the Goldfields Football League kicking over 250 goals.

A professional sprinter as well as a footballer, his pace made him one of the league's most dangerous forwards despite standing only 178 cm. He also served as player-coach of the Magpies in 1907 and 1908.

His last game came in the 1915 VFL Grand Final, where a 39-year-old Rowell pulled on the Collingwood jumper one final time in a loss to Carlton. He remains the oldest player in Collingwood's history.

7. Shaun Burgoyne – 38 years, 304 days

"Silk" played 407 AFL games across Port Adelaide and Hawthorn, making him the most capped Indigenous player in the history of the game and one of only five players to reach the 400-game milestone.

A 2004 premiership player with Port Adelaide, Burgoyne crossed to Hawthorn in 2009 and won three further flags in the Hawks' dynasty of 2013, 2014 and 2015.

His ability to play across every line is ultimately what kept him going into his late 30s. His last game came in Round 23 of 2021, just two months shy of his 39th birthday, signing off a 19-season career that started with a teenage draft pick out of Darwin. After retiring, he joined the commentary teams at Channel 7 and Fox Footy.

8. Craig Bradley – 38 years, 291 days

Craig Bradley was still polling Brownlow votes in his final AFL game at 38 years and 291 days old, collecting three votes in a Round 19, 2002 clash against Port Adelaide. Not bad for a farewell appearance.

Bradley played 375 games for Carlton after arriving from Port Adelaide in 1986, winning two premierships (1987 and 1995), claiming four All-Australian selections and captaining the Blues from 1998 to 2001.

He played 22 seasons of elite football in total. The Brownlow votes in his last game were a fitting summary of a player who simply refused to age.

9. Scott Pendlebury – 38 years, 205 days

Pendles has been breaking records left right and centre in 2026, he now sits ninth on the all-time list of oldest players in the AFL. 

The way that he’s going, we wouldn’t be surprised to see him go around for another year in 2026.

Scott Pendlebury is also the all-time VFL/AFL games record holder, having passed Brent Harvey's mark of 432 games when he played his 433rd on May 23, 2026.

Twenty-one seasons, two premierships (2010 and 2023), a Norm Smith Medal, six All-Australian selections and now a place among the ten oldest players the game has seen. 

Pendlebury is still going strong, who knows how far up this list he’ll end up.

10. Les Hughes – 38 years, 144 days

"Flapper" Les Hughes played 225 games for Collingwood between 1908 and 1922, winning three premierships in 1910, 1917 and 1919.

A ruckman who topped the club's goalkicking in both 1912 and 1913, Hughes was one of the best in the competition during his prime and captained Victoria in 1919. He was still playing at 38 in the 1922 season, many years removed from the critics who considered him too raw for VFL standard when he first appeared at Victoria Park.

Off the field, "Flapper" was a well-known Fitzroy publican, running the Royal Derby Hotel with much the same energy he brought to his football. Great player, great pub.