Geelong midfielder Mathew Stokes will play his 189th and final game for the Cats on Saturday at Simonds Stadium after he announced to his teammates he will be departing the club after this season.

Stokes reflected on his time with the Cats that began when he was selected with the 61st pick in the 2005 national draft.

“I am very thankful to the club for giving me the opportunity to live out this dream over the past 10 years,” Stokes said.

“I got overlooked in the draft three times and Stephen Wells and the Cats were the only ones that wanted to take a chance on me. I am grateful for being part of this great club that has really changed my life.

“To have played here and enjoyed the success that we have and to have done it with people that are and will be my best friends for life has been a great experience. I hope now that the players that are here set the culture for the club in the future and keep it moving in the right direction.

“I have loved my time here and will miss coming in every day. But my goal was to play one game and to have been here for a decade and to take away so many great friendships and relationships is the most important thing, even more than the wins and premierships.”

Geelong coach Chris Scott paid tribute to Stokes both as a player and a leader within the club.

“Stokesy has been a great player to coach and a fantastic contributor to the club and the team over the past decade,” Scott said.

“He is a player that has given everything for the club and been a key component of an incredible period for the club. In addition to his skills and toughness, Mathew’s resiliency is something that I really admire and is a shining light for others to follow.

“These decisions are very difficult and Stokesy has conducted himself really well through the discussions and decision that have been made and when he went back to the VFL a couple of times this year he did a great job of helping the younger players.”

Geelong CEO Brian Cook paid tribute to Stokes for his willingness to be involved in all aspects of the club.

“Stokesy is very popular around the club, both in footy and the wider club, and has been a joy to watch over a long and successful period,” Cook said.

“He has been working in our community department in his own time and has done a great job in driving our indigenous program Closing the Gap. I think Mathew will continue to achieve great things after he finishes with footy.”

Stokes’ career highlights include:

· Selected with 61st pick in 2005 national draft from Woodville-West Torrens

· Debut against Richmond, round 9 2006 at Simonds Stadium

· Kicking a career best 5 goals against Fremantle in round 17, 2007

· Booting three first quarter goals in 2007 preliminary final win over Collingwood

· Returning in 2007 grand final win over Port Adelaide after suffering knee injury in first quarter

· Played for the Indigenous all stars in 2007 and 2009

· Representing the Dream team against Victoria in the 2008 AFL Hall of Fame game as part of the 150th year of football celebrations

· Selflessly ruling himself out of 2009 preliminary final due to minor injury with the full knowledge that he may not return for the grand final

· Booting a critical second quarter goal in 2011 premiership win against Collingwood when the Cats trailed by 18 points

· Surpassing Ronnie Burns (134 games with Cats) in 2013 as Indigenous player with most games in Geelong’s history

· Finishing fourth in club best & fairest in 2013

· Representing Australia in international rules series in 2013

· Setting a career best with 38 disposals against the Eagles in round 4, 2014

· Booted his 200th career goal in round 9 2015 against the West Coast Eagles. He is one of just 36 players to have kicked over 200 goals with the club.

· Over 188 games, Mathew has helped the Cats win 142 times (75.5%)