2009 season:
The evergreen Tyson Edwards started the 2009 season in blistering form with a number of influential performances in the midfield. He was in the umpires’ votes in the round one win against Collingwood with 28 disposals, but he saved his best performance for round 11. Edwards became the fourth Crow to play 300 games for the club when Adelaide took on Essendon at Docklands. He amassed 22 kicks, 19 handballs (41 possessions) and laid 10 tackles in a best on ground performance. Edwards reflected on the milestone, saying from a young age he didn’t believe he would achieve it. “The milestone is a little bit of a reward for hanging in there for a long time,” Edwards said. “Growing up, (playing 300 AFL games) wasn’t even on the radar. I was just looking to play some good footy with West Adelaide. I wasn’t really sure whether footy was what I wanted to do forever, because you just never know what’s going to happen. I’m rapt that I’ve been able to play 300.”

David Noble’s 2009 review:
“The game keeps getting quicker, but Tyson still has the capacity to read it and his execution is always on the money. He keeps going and he’s going to go around again. More importantly he’s still got the drive to perform at the level, which is crucially important for the older guys.”

Career:
Edwards made his AFL debut in 1995 after having started his senior career with West Adelaide in the SANFL. He was snared by the Crows with the 21st pick at the 1995 pre-season draft and although he took some time to establish himself as a team regular, he played in the 1997 and 1998 premierships. His durability and versatility has remained his biggest asset and his form has rarely dropped. He has finished second in the club champion three times in 2002, 2003 and 2006, when he received 16 votes in Brownlow voting. He has also finished in the top 10 of club champion voting every year since 2000, a testament to his consistency. In 2009 he missed two games, and in the previous nine seasons he has only missed three matches.