Ryan Griffen’s highlights reel is littered with showstoppers, and as he prepares for his 200^th game this Sunday, the star midfielder has no plans to stop.

The 28-year-old won Brendan McCartney’s respect well before taking the helm at the Bulldogs, with his capacity to break games open and hurt the most formidable sides.

“Coaching against him for a long time I loved watching him, fearful of what he could do to us as a Club, but I’ve really enjoyed coaching him,” McCartney said.

“I still find myself watching him sometimes marvelling at some of the things he does, it’s rare power and it’s good to watch and it is good for the game.

Given the added responsibility of captain this season, McCartney said Griffen has developed his own style of leadership — both nurturing and compassionate.

“There are different styles of captaincy, there are captains who are strong and firm and make great speeches and there’s Ryan, they all love him like a big brother,” McCartney said.

“They know that he cares for them deeply and that is very important… I think the players will draw on it (the milestone). It will be a good highlights reel.

“They have a lot of respect for this man but once the game starts you’ve got a job to do… if I need to bring it up at half time it will get a run.”

The captaincy is not something Griffen has taken lightly and the modest skipper said he has grown into the role but the process is ongoing.

“I love captaining the club… I thought I’ve really improved, I’ve tried to step up,” Griffen said.

“In saying that there’s still a lot of improvement there and I have will lean on Macca and he has been helping me in that area.

“Time has flown and I have enjoyed every minute of it.”

But what Griffen was most excited about was witnessing the changing of the guard as the young players mature and enter their prime as players.

“I can sit back and watch them star and play some really consistent footy… it is really exciting for me and I can sit back and watch these guys take over,” he said.