STEPHEN Milne is St Kilda personified - passionate, loyal and durable.

At 4.40pm this Sunday afternoon, Milne will break the record for most games played by a rookie-listed player. The venue is AAMI Stadium, the same ground he debuted at as a 21-year old in round four, 2001.

After 264 matches, 2400 kicks and 555 goals in a career stretching 13 seasons, Milne is showing no signs of slowing down.

"I'm just loving being a part of such an exciting young group," he told SAINTS.com.au this week.

"I am never going to take it (playing AFL) for granted. To get an opportunity after playing Essendon reserves was a dream come true, and to play this many games has just been awesome."

[ ALSO: Milne keeps the Blues at bay ]

Milne played under 18s for the Dandenong Stingrays, impressing as a midfielder, but not swaying any of the 16 AFL clubs to take him in the 1998 National Draft. Previously he had played as lead-up full-forward in junior football.

St Kilda Head Recruiter at the time John Beveridge, who still works at the club as a Recruiting Advisor, remembers Milne as a "very good player," who he had only ever seen play as a midfielder.

[ RELATED: Beveridge celebrates 30 years ]

"When he was at the Stingrays he played a fair bit in the midfield and probably didn't show everybody his cleverness around goal," Beveridge recalls.

"I think people had queries about his speed and his run as a small player. That's the reason, I think, why he was overlooked."

Despite the setback, Milne continued to play enthusiastically, learning his craft as a small forward for the Essendon reserves in 1999 and was an integral part of its Premiership team.

His close friend Adam Ramanauskas would walk past the recruiting manager's office and yell out Milne's name. If it wasn't for salary cap breaches and draft penalties Essendon would have taken the small forward ahead of the 2000 season.

Instead, Beveridge called the 19-year-old and invited him to train with the Saints prior to the rookie draft held in December.

"I remember ringing him and saying 'Look, Essendon don't seem to be doing something with you. You live out our way, why don't you come and train at Moorabbin?' And he did."

"We were in the market for his type of player and I guess purely and simply, we as recruiters, wanted to present him to the coaching staff."

Milne trained well. He impressed St Kilda coach Tim Watson enough to offer him a rookie contract worth about $12,500 for the 2000 season.

"He put his nose to the wheel and did everything right in the time between the national draft and the rookie draft ... and away we went," Beveridge says.

He spent the year in the reserves, and admits that there were times when he thought his chances of playing even one AFL game were dim.

"Yeah there were times when I thought I would never break through," Milne says.

"But I kept trying hard and when I got my chance I just wanted to enjoy it and loved every moment."

While the Saints were keen to develop Milne into a ball-winning midfielder, his opportunism around goal and ability to be in the right spot at the right time was too appealing. Milne booted 50 majors in the 2002 after breaking into the senior team the year before.

He quickly entrenched himself as a St Kilda fan favourite and one of the Saints most valuable players. A forward pocket that was equally adept at leading from the goal-square as he was at the feet of Riewoldt and co.

Beveridge recalls how important he was in the Grand Final sides of Ross Lyon, both offensively and defensively:

"Lyon would say 'If we get it in our forward line, keep it there' and Milne applied himself to this. This has undoubtedly enabled him to have more longevity in the game."

Nowadays Milne can be seen crumbing, leading, shepherding, balking, tackling and even marking uncontested in the back-pocket as we saw against Carlton.

He is arguably the finest small forward the modern era has seen. A dual All-Australian (2011 & 2012) two pre-season premierships and countless match-winning performances are just one half of his football resume.

The other is his leadership, his mentoring of fellow forwards Ahmed Saad and Terry Milera, combined with his wholehearted approach to football. It's infectious.

When James McDonald retired at the conclusion of the 2012 season, this record was Milne's for the taking, but not something he necessarily strives for.

"I don't play for these milestones," he says.

"But it certainly is an honour to achieve this and I'm proud to call myself a Saint."

St Kilda rookie-listed players who have played senior games:

*Current St Kilda player

Most AFL games by a rookie-listed player:

You can follow Tom Morris on Twitter: @tommorris32