He was ragged with his hair all over the place and his jumper hanging out, and his fitness was far from elite, but Mark Williams knew when he saw Robbie Gray playing in a pre-draft football game in 2006 that there was something special about him.

On the eve of his 200^th AFL game, Williams has explained his pride in seeing Gray reach the milestone, describing him as “understated, humble” and a “genuine person”.

While injuries mean Gray’s journey to 200 has been a bit slower than some – fellow 2006 Power draftees Justin Westhoff (249 games) and Travis Boak (243) included – they also helped define a man who has become one of Port Adelaide’s all-time greats.

“He’s one of my favourite players,” 2004 Premiership coach Williams explained to portadelaidefc.com.au.

“For a long long time I’ve been watching him and he makes me smile.

“He’s one of those guys that makes everyone want to come to the footy to see what he is going to bring.”

Williams was Power coach when Gray was drafted with pick 55 at the 2006 AFL National Draft.

The absolute definition of a diamond in the rough, Gray has gone on to win All-Australian honours four times as well as three club best and fairests and countless other awards.

Williams first saw him playing at Optus Oval ahead of the draft along with then recruiter Alan Stewart.

“We sat high in the grandstand and watched this young kid with a lot of flair and I love players with flair and who come up with something that surprises you,” Williams recalled.

“He struggled a lot with his running but the quality you saw in those moments, you thought, gee, this might go somewhere.

“It was a game for the players that weren’t in the main draw of the draft against each other and this guy’s sideward movement, his ability to control the ball but he looked a bit ragged with his hair all over the place, his jumper hanging out and he lacked the fitness aspect of it.

“But, we were able to look past all of that and see the actual talent and that was the thing we were happy to pick.”

It was Gray’s rawness rather than his elite fitness or body shape that caught Williams’ eye.

And the decision to draft him was cemented after Williams found out he was working early mornings at a sausage factory.

“Nothing beats great raw talent as long as the guy has some drive," Williams recalled.

“I found out he used to work at the butchers or something, so that meant 5am starts and it made me think that this guy had a bit of drive and he wants to be something and he’s not afraid to work hard for it.

“Unfortunately, when we got him to the club, he had Osteitis Pubis so he couldn’t run.

“All the doctors and physios really struggled with getting him out on the track and he almost teased us because we knew exactly what he could bring but we didn’t see enough of it because he was always injured.”

Williams said the club doctors and physios had a lot to do with Gray’s ability to actually get on the park after his early injury struggles and should be thanked.

Gray managed just 70 games in his first six years and was starting to look like the star Williams knew him to be when he suffered a horrific knee injury which sidelined him for an entire season in 2012.

He bounced back and Williams said he felt so lucky to see him play.

“He has some great talent as far as his agility, ball-winning ability and goal sense,” he said.

“Having played with Peter Daicos, he’s the closest thing to what Daics could do – kick goals out of anywhere and create stuff that a normal person wouldn’t be able to do.

“The AFL, the general public in Victoria have got to know him now whereas I think before he was a bit hidden in Adelaide.”

But one more challenge came Gray’s way at the end of 2017 when he was diagnosed with testicular cancer just four days after the Power’s heartbreaking over time Elimination Final loss to West Coast.

Williams, who has endured his own battle with cancer, said he was impressed with Gray’s ability to overcome the diagnosis and return to his best form on the field.

“Resilience and ups and downs have been part of Robbie’s career with doing his knee and obviously when he got cancer as well,” the now Werribee coach said.

“He was one of the first players to ring me when I had cancer and wish me the best and it says something about the quality of the guy as well – not only is he a great footballer, he’s a great person.

“I’m so proud of Robbie. He’s just understated, humble, such a team man and genuine person.”