They are the athletes that few fans notice, the players who will rarely steal the limelight but are always ready to serve. "It's not very glamorous, it's definitely been unorthodox," Melbourne AFL ruckman, Tom Campbell, said about his AFL career. The 33-year-old recently signed with Melbourne — his fourth AFL club — having played just 58 senior games since making his debut for the Western Bulldogs in 2012. At the other end of the experience scale is 22-year-old Adelaide 36ers centre Ben Griscti. He returned from US college basketball after three years to sign for his home-city team and his statistics across the most recent NBL season make for sobering reading. He sat on the bench without playing one second in 24 games, and ended up playing a combined total of just over 23 minutes. "You could be upset about it, you could be angry about it, how you feel is okay," he said. "But the bottom line for any of these feelings is that you just need to keep working." However, good things do come to those who wait and his big moment arrived when American Montrezl Harrell was suspended for four matches after a melee involving spectators. "Mike [Wells, 36ers coach] told me on the Tuesday that week that I was going to play and I remember it was in the middle of a drill," he said. Most of his time on the court came over those next four games as a suspended Harrell watched on from America. But the former NBA player eventually returned and Griscti played just 43 seconds in the following 13 matches. No time for him to sulk, he went straight back to work on the training courts with the other rarely used bench players. "The hardest workers in here are the guys who don't play because we're here first and we leave last because we're chasing those minutes and chasing that role in the team," he said. 'An amazing journey' At the end of the last AFL season Tom Campbell was cut by St Kilda and his time at the top level looked over. But the Demons came calling and he is now training and playing alongside the league's best ruckman and former junior teammate Max Gawn. "It's been an amazing journey, it's not just about the footy, it's also about how it develops you as a person, the time in elite sport. "It's a unique environment, it's high pressure, so I'm really proud at what I've been able to achieve over a long period of time." And there is always the chance that through injury or form, the call will come to step up, as happened for Darcy Fort in Brisbane's AFL premiership last year. "It's not very glamorous, but I think we saw with Darcy Fort at the Brisbane Football Club, the important role that that backup that can play on a really big stage, it's opportunities like that that keep me motivated," Campbell said. "Certainly I would have hoped to have played more footy at the senior level, but at the same time I'm really proud of the contribution I've made to three, now my fourth, footy club." Patience key for goalies In soccer, it is goalkeepers who often have to be exceedingly patient. Brandon Austin did not play a competitive senior match for English Premier League side Tottenham between 2021 and January this year, before a breakthrough game where he was named man of the match. However he has since been benched again after Spurs signed another keeper, as well as its top man returning from injury. Manchester City has had Scott Carson in its squad since 2021, but the Englishman has only made one Premier League appearance since signing a permanent deal. And Newcastle Jets keeper Noah James had to wait 1,640 days between senior matches in the A-League, before he also earned man of the match honours when he was named to play. The issue of minutes played for athletes, at least in the A-League, can be a sensitive one. The Jets refused access to James, while the Central Coast Mariners did similar with rarely-used keeper Adam Pavlesic. AFL Demons Tom Campbell has no such issues, and is ready to make an impact with his new club if called on. "I'm really confident in my ability to play AFL footy and step up when needed," he said. As is Ben Griscti, who will keep waiting for his Adelaide 36ers moment again next season. In the meantime he's pulling on the jumper for semi-professional side Sturt in Australian basketball's secondary level in the NBL off-season. "You gotta be ready and [you've] just got to work harder," he said.