Brent Staker got to experience it for the first time last Saturday night against the Eagles and Fev will face it this Thursday when we play Carlton.
Stakes is still really good mates with a lot of his old team-mates and I’m sure there would have been plenty of playful banter out on the field last week. It would be a massive relief for him to have gotten that particular match over and done with so early in the season.
Fev has already had a taste of playing against Carlton during the pre-season competition. The match was played at his ‘old’ home ground and from all reports he seemed to cop plenty from the crowd.
This Thursday night he’ll be playing in front of his 'new' home crowd.
There’s been plenty of attention on Fev over the past few weeks but he has handled it all in his stride. Now he’s just focussed on playing good footy and hopefully helping the Lions win some more games.
We’ve played in some pretty big games against Carlton in recent seasons and it’s probably fair to say that they have had our measure over the past couple of years.
They have won three of the past four matches against us - including two at the Gabba - with our only recent win coming in last year’s Elimination Final.
That match remains one of the most exciting moments at the Club in recent memory. Unfortunately I wasn’t part of that particular game, but the buzz from just sitting in the stands was amazing.
Hopefully the Lions members and supporters can give the Blues a similar reception this Thursday.
Personally, I’m in a race against time to be fit for the game after rolling my ankle against the Eagles last Saturday. Fortunately there was no major damage, but with a short turnaround between our first two games (five days) I’ll need to be really careful with my recovery if I’m going to prove that I’ll be right to play.
Tickets have been selling really well and the Club is expecting massive crowd come Thursday night. It’s a huge game for us and we’ll be keen to get away with another win and then enjoy an extended break over Easter.
