Five-time first grade premiership winner and record run scorer receives club's highest honour

His tally of 7920 first grade runs for Orange City - including 256 during the 2023/24 campaign - are the most in the club's storied history.

To put that into perspective, the top-order batter has accumulated nearly than double the next best mark set by Stu Milne of 4370.

"I didn't realise there was such a big gap," Grenfell said.

"I always knew I had a fair few runs but that took me by surprise."

That accomplishment itself would be enough to earn him legendary status.

But when you include the 256 top flight wickets - fifth most for the club - then it's no wonder Grenfell was announced as the club's 36^th life member during their presentation night on April 6.

"It hasn't sunk in and I don't think it will for a while," the all-rounder added.

The now 40-year-old first donned City colours as a teenager and made his debut in the top grade during that maiden season.

He became more of a main-stay in season two and has been accumulating runs at a healthy 30-plus average ever since.

Asked if there was a particular moment that stood out to him over the two decades, his mind went straight to City's low-scoring grand final victory over CYMS in their 2012-13 campaign.

The Warriors were bundled out of the finals in straight sets the year prior and hadn't lifted the first grade premiers plate since 1999.

"We'd gone through a pretty harsh rebuild of the club. We'd had a lot of poor years where there wasn't a great deal of success and a lot of player turnover," Grenfell recalled.

"To come through those years and grab a premiership at the end of it was a good one."

This was the first of five first grade premierships he would win with the club, including four straight starting in 2017-18.

Now closer to the end of his career than the start of it, Grenfell knows he's "one good injury" away from retirement.

So as long as his body doesn't betray him, you can expect Grenfell to keep lining up for City.

"I'll play for as long as I can, whatever grade it is," he said.

"Being as competitive as I am, it would be hard to step back to seconds. But if that's where the club needed me then that's where I would play.

"While ever I'm capable and my body's capable, I'll play until then. Once I stop, I'll stop."

Grenfell was full of praise for past players such Frank Weymouth and Milne - whom he described as a "freak of everything" - for helping make him the player he is today.

"You have a look at some of the players who are life members and the impact that they've had on the field, off the field. It's very hard to put myself in that category," he added.