The name does seem to inspire you just that little bit more when the Magpies come around in the draw.
It is always a blockbuster when we play them up here and we seem to have inherited the rivalry that was so prevalent from earlier this decade.
I mean ‘inherited’ because there’s not that many guys left in our team – or theirs – from the grand final years.
Irrespective of whether it is Collingwood or whoever, winning our first home game of the year is always going to be important to get our season off to a good start.
The week has been a challenge for our conditioning and coaching staff because we have just a six day break from our last match, which just happened to be the longest and toughest road trip in AFL football.
I really liked the idea to travel straight home to Brisbane after last Saturday night’s game against West Coast in Perth.
In past years we have always flown back at around lunchtime the following day, giving our bodies the chance to lay in and get plenty of sleep after the game.
The only problem is that a lot of the guys find it difficult to sleep after a game.
You get so ‘amped up’ that you can’t sleep. There’s also the small matter of replaying your stuff-ups or things you could have done better in the game going over and over in your head.
The added benefit of the flight was that there weren’t many people on it, so we could spread out across two or three seats and get quite comfortable, rather than when you are packed in three to a row.
We might have arrived in Brisbane at around 4am, but I think the majority of blokes got a lot out of being able to wake up in their own beds, albeit mid-morning or at lunchtime.
We experienced some pretty hot weather in Perth, so we were even gladder to get out of there as soon as we could.
We left Brisbane early in the afternoon last Thursday and arrived just before dinner time.
We went for a short loosen up session to get the legs going but pretty much relaxed that night.
We had a training session in the middle of the day on Friday and a recovery session at one of the Perth beaches straight after.
By getting it out of the way reasonably early, it gave the boys the chance to relax for the afternoon and evening.
In the past we’ve gone ten-pin bowling and had a later training session, but those of us who like to relax enjoyed the extra time.
I couldn’t believe that I started to cramp up from early in the game – it was really hot and humid in the first half. They were pretty tough playing conditions, and the boys did well to get back into the game after the Eagles got the early jump on us.
I enjoyed kicking my running goal. We were behind at that stage and they had a loose man in defence, so I was told to run it and see if I could contribute a long goal.
I don’t mind having a shot after a long run – I’d much prefer to shoot on the run than from a set shot. I have too much time to think about it otherwise.
When you have that momentum behind you, I find it easier to kick through the ball properly.
