Sydney will be losing more than 1000 games worth of experience when their AFL season ends on Saturday after former co-captain Kieren Jack became the fourth 2012 premiership player to announce his retirement in 2019.

Jack joined backs Heath Grundy, Jarrad McVeigh and Nick Smith in calling time on his career, having battled injury issues this season like the other three.

He played seven of the 13 games the quartet have mustered between them in 2019, forcing the Swans to pump plenty of matches into their host of promising youngsters.

Jack on Monday revealed he had battled with hip issues for most of his career and had been warned by the club doctor a couple of years ago he might need a replacement sometime in the future.

The 32-year-old has tallied 255 games, playing primarily as a midfielder and in more recent years as a forward.

He won a club best and fairest in 2010, was named All Australian in 2013 and was chosen in the Australian squad for the International Rules series in 2010 and 2014.

Jack’s story was one of perseverance as he developed from an ugly duckling into a fierce, classy and valued Swan.

“If you had have asked me at 18 with a one-year deal whether I’d have been here 14 years later, I would have said ‘you are dreaming,” Jack said.

“I was given an opportunity by this club, my career has been built on pure hard work and a willingness to just keep wanting to improve.”

“Fourteen years I’ve surfed the wave and it’s time for me to step aside and let the next group come through.”

The son of rugby league legend Garry Jack, Kieren only started playing the Australian Rules game as an 11-year-old.

He was taken as a rookie in 2006 and played just two senior games in 2007.

Sydney coach John Longmire said there had been plenty of doubters when Jack arrived at the club.

“He was able to show enormous resilience, dedication and mental strength and he turned himself into one of the really great two-way midfielders in the competition,” Longmire said.

“He played on some of the best AFL midfielders and he turned into one of the best AFL midfielders.”

Starting as a back pocket, Jack found a niche as a tagger and blossomed into a quick tenacious midfielder with a penetrating left-foot kick and an eye for goal, kicking two of his 165 career goals in the 2012 grand final win.

Jack also played in the Swans’ losing 2014 and 2016 grand final teams.

SYDNEY’S RETIRING CLASS OF 2019

*Jarrad McVeigh – 324 games, 3rd highest in Swans history

*Heath Grundy – 256, 6th

*Kieren Jack – 255, 7th

*Nick Smith – 211,24th

Total games played: 1046