This weekend the Essendon superstar plays his 300th game for the club and great mate and captain Matthew Lloyd looked back over their 14 years together.
"I think that what I love about him is he's as humble a person as I've ever met," Lloyd told afl.com.au.
"He's low-key, a genuine person – just the person Dustin Fletcher, you wouldn't meet a nicer bloke, and he's a great family man."
But what about the Dustin Fletcher we see every weekend, giving his all for the Bombers?
"Dustin the player? I've played on him many a time at training, and I think I might have got four on him once, but apart from that it was probably just one or two.
"Not many guys have pace and strength, but he's got both of those.
"With his off-the-mark pace … we'd be lost without him, to be honest.
"We took (Michael) Hurley in the draft because Fletcher's going to be a huge hole to fill.
"I just think he's cat-like on the ground, his speed of the mark is enormous and he's deceptively strong with his 'Inspector Gadget' arms, so he's got it all, to be honest.
"He's just been one of the greats of our footy club."
Lloyd said Fletcher was not only a legendary player, but also a great teacher and role model, an invaluable asset in a young club.
"Oh, you can see the way Michael (Hurley) is around Dustin – he just hangs off every word.
"You can also see the way he watches him at training.
"I had James Hird, Paul Salmon, Michael Long, Gavin Wanganeen – so it's great for him to have arguably the greatest backman in the club's history to learn off."
Lloyd praised the durability of the 198cm 93kg Fletcher, who started at the club while completing year 12 at Essendon Grammar.
"At 17, he had Tony Modra, Jason Dunstall, Gary Ablett, Wayne Carey – that's enough to mentally scar you for the rest of your career," Lloyd said.
"But I think probably about 0.1 per cent of players who play AFL get to 300 games, so he's been durable and consistent the entire way through his career.
"He's been enormous."
And where does Lloyd rate him in the grand scheme of things down at Windy Hill?
"Dustin's probably the most underrated bloke that I've played with, probably because he's stopping goals and not kicking them.
"I rate him equal with James Hird, to be honest."
