The commitment, drive and passion Ben Cunnington has provided the North Melbourne Football Club over the course of his career cannot be underestimated, with the inside-midfielder well and truly one of the club’s all-time greats.

A brilliant long-time servant of the club, Cunnington has once again etched his name into North’s history books, overtaking Adam Simpson to become North’s all-time leader in clearances.

With his 8 clearances in the win against Gold Coast on Saturday, the number 10’s career tally hit 1284, two more than Simpson’s total of 1282.

Achieving the mark in 224 appearances, Cunnington reached the total in 82 games less than Simpson, with his career average of 5.7 clearances per game currently the eighth highest total in AFL history.

Ageing like a fine wine, Cunnington is averaging 7.7 clearances per game in 2021 – ahead of his previous career-high of 7.3, achieved in both 2015 and 2019.

He is now clearly front of mind for All-Australian selectors. 

As he shows no signs of slowing down, the 29-year-old moved up to 13th in the AFL’s all-time clearance list, and has played fewer games than anyone in the top 15. In 12th place is Travis Boak who sits five ahead of Cunnington, having played 72 more games.

A true soldier for North over the years, ‘Cunners’ deserves every record and accolade that comes his way.

North Melbourne all-time clearance leaders 
Ben Cunnington (1284*)
Adam Simpson (1282)
Andrew Swallow (1173)
Brent Harvey (982)
Jack Ziebell (816*)
Todd Goldstein (810*)

* Active player