That man being Matthew Kreuzer, who on Sunday will play his 150th match - almost a decade since he was the coveted priority selection pick and went at No.1 in what has emerged as an extremely strong draft.

He had been coveted by several clubs but was secured by the Blues after they controversially lost their final clash of the 2007 season to fellow struggler the Demons, a game that has come to be known as the "Kreuzer Cup".

For the one-time lad from the Northern Knights, it's been a ride of fluctuating emotions, from the joy of being drafted, let alone as the top asset, to enjoying a brief finals flirtation under former coach Brett Ratten, to the frustration of injuries, to even the prospect of leaving Princes Park when he was pursued by the Western Bulldogs and Collingwood during the 2015 trade period.

Kreuzer has also endured questions as to whether he would have the expected impact that comes with being a No.1 pick, something teammates Marc Murphy and Bryce Gibbs know all about. But in his 10th season, the man nicknamed Humphrey by teammates for his quiet manner is enjoying career-best form.

"His ability to win the ball on the ground, when you look at what other clubs want, like the Bulldogs playing Lin Jong in the ruck, a lot of clubs don't want their team to be hampered by a ruckman that does the tap work and not much else. Kreuz is the antithesis of that. In today's game, he is really valuable," Judd told Fairfax Media.

"When sides can get almost two players out of one, he becomes really valuable. Tom Scully at GWS doesn't leave the ground because he is so aerobically fit and, in that time he is on the ground, probably covers one-a-half times the distance a normal player does. His value is really huge to GWS.

"Kreuz is a bit the same. He does the work of a ruckman but also the work of a ruck rover - I think his value to Carlton is even, sometimes, under-estimated."

That value, though, has never been higher. In the month leading into last weekend's bye, Champion Data statistics show he logged an average of 103 minutes a game, up from 87 last year and the second highest of his career, highlighting his fitness after a strong summer.

He was also averaging a career-high 18.5 disposals, six tackles and four clearances a game and had laid the most tackles of any ruckman.

Kreuzer's ability to win his own ball, even from his own tap, has meant he is almost on a par in terms of his value at clearances as teammate Patrick Cripps, a ball-hunting specialist.

"His tackle pressure and clearance work, after Crippa, is almost as good as anyone in the team," Judd said.

"I think his year this year has just been terrific. His numbers have been great but I don't reckon the numbers always tell the full story, either. He is really one of those players that really wills the team when the going gets tough, and that doesn't come up in disposals or marks or contested possessions. It's the stage of the game when he really contributes the most.

"That's why I love watching him now and loved playing with him."

Coach Brendon Bolton said Kreuzer and fitness staff had discovered the best way to handle his training and recovery, ensuring he is fresh come later in the week.

"We have worked out with Kreuzer's input and our high-performance team have done a great job in understanding what loads his body can tolerate, given the injuries he had a few years back. I think we have found a really good groove there. Touch wood, that continues," he said.

Judd joined the Blues just weeks before Kreuzer was drafted, and would be by his side until the dual Brownlow medallist retired in 2015. In that period, he would see Kreuzer, who grew up with Richmond skipper Trent Cotchin as a great mate, deal with a range of issues.

It shouldn't be forgotten, though, that he had notched 56-straight matches, including all 23 in his second season, before he ruptured his anterior crucial ligament in round 13, 2010. He returned in round 12, 2011, and would play in all the remaining games that season. There would be 20 games in 2012 and 17 in 2013 before his '14 campaign ended in round one against Port Adelaide because of a foot issue - the same foot that had been operated on late the year before.

"It's a contact sport - you've just got to cop them (injuries) and get back to improving when you do get back out on the field," Kreuzer said at the time.

Judd said Kreuzer's mentality at a time when his emotions could easily have plummeted had been impressive. Already with a self-described obsession with motor bikes from his younger days riding on the property of his aunty and uncle, he turned to bike riding to help in his recovery, and in 2010 made the 600km trip from Bendigo to Bathurst to watch Australia's greatest car race.

"He never really got the victim-mentally which was pretty natural for players to get when they have a bad run with injuries. As a No.1 draft pick that had that level of bad luck, it was very easy to fall into the woe-is-me category, but he never did that," Judd said.

"Sometimes players gets injuries because they haven't prepared as well as they could have or they have been a bit sloppy in the way they have gone about things. But he has just been one of those guys who have been genuinely unlucky with his footy, works incredibly hard, prepares incredibly well, and is really loved by his teammates."

Judd says there is slight misconception that Kreuzer rarely speaks at the club.

"He says enough. He was pretty shy when he started. In footy, you get stuck with that forever," he said.

"He is certainly one of the boys. He doesn't waste too many words in general. After his first couple of years, he came out of his shell. He is fine - but you wouldn't describe him as an over-talker."

This trait may have held back his ambition of joining the leadership group, as he expressed to Fairfax Media in the summer of 2012. Regardless, the Blues are just happy for him to continue being their silent assassin, exemplifying what Bolton wants from his leaders.

"I think, internally, it's understood he is just so humble. He has got a real quiet nature but is just so humble in and around the group but come training, come game day, he is one of the fiercest competitors we have, and you can see that in his consistency this year," Bolton said.

"(He is) a fierce competitor but, at the same time, really humble. He probably defines what type of Carlton player we want."

AND THE BIG MEN FLY: RUCKMEN BETWEEN ROUNDS 7-10:

D CP UP RC HO HOW% HOA% C

Matthew Kreuzer (Carl) 18.5 10 7.5 72.2 28.8 39.8 36.5 4.5

Brodie Grundy (Coll) 18.5 11.8 7.5 80.5 38.2 47.5 20.9 5

Zac Smith (Geel) 17 10 6.7 81 37.7 46.5 23.9 6

Stefan Martin (Bris) 16.8 9.5 5.8 82.5 39 47.3 28.2 5.2

Jarrod Witts (GoldCoast) 16.7 8.3 8 75.7 42.7 56.4 31.3 2.7

Cam Pedersen (Melb) 16.5 6.8 10.2 54.2 15.8 29 20.6 2.2

Tom Boyd (WestBull) 15.8 6.8 9 61.8 25.2 40.9 22.8 3

Toby Nankervis (Rich) 15.7 8 7 58.3 20.3 34.9 29.5 2.7

Paddy Ryder (Port) 15 12.7 3.3 68.7 36 52.4 28.7 6

Sam Jacobs (Ade) 14.8 7.2 8 80 46 57.5 27.2 2.5

Note: RC: Ruck contests; HO: Hit outs; HOW: Hit outs won; HOA: Hit outs to advantage

Source: Champion Data

TIME MACHINE: 2007 NATIONAL DRAFT

1PS: Matthew Kreuzer (Carlton)

2: Trent Cotchin (Richmond)

3: Chris Masten (West Coast)

4: Cale Morton (Melbourne)

5: Jarrad Grant (Western Bulldogs)

6: David Myers (Essendon)

7: Rhys Palmer (Fremantle)

8: Lachie Henderson (Brisbane)

9: Ben McEvoy (St Kilda)

10: Patrick Dangerfield (Adelaide)

11: Patrick Veszpremi (Sydney)

12: Cyril Rioli (Hawthorn)

13: Brad Ebert (West Coast)

14: Jack Grimes (Melbourne)

15: Robbie Tarrant (North Melbourne)

16: Matthew Lobbe (Port Adelaide)

17: Harry Taylor (Geelong)

18PS: Alex Rance (Richmond)

19: Callan Ward (Western Bulldogs)

20: Tony Notte (West Coast)

*PS: Priority selection

IN HINDSIGHT: JON PIERIK REVISITS THE 2007 DRAFT AND OFFERS HIS TOP 10

???1: Patrick Dangerfield (originally 10, now at Geelong)

The game's premier midfielder

2: Alex Rance (18 - still at Richmond)

The game's best defender

3: Cyril Rioli (12 - still at Hawthorn)

A match-winner who has done it on the biggest stage

4: Trent Cotchin (2 - still at Richmond)

Champion midfielder but yet to prove himself in September

5: Harry Taylor (17 - still at Geelong)

Has been a star centre half-back almost from day one

6: Taylor Walker (75 NSW scholarship holder - still at Adelaide)

One of the premier power forwards

7: Callan Ward (19 by Western Bulldogs, now at GWS)

Hard-running and courageous midfielder

8: Brad Ebert (13 by West Coast, now at Port Adelaide)

Now at the peak of his powers in the midfield

9: Cale Hooker (54 - still at Essendon)

Able to play key position at either end of the ground

10: Easton Wood (43 - still at Western Bulldogs)

A crucial defensive and rebounding cog of the Dogs' 2016 flag