ALL ANZAC Day games are pretty exciting, because of the amount of media hype beforehand and the big crowds that attend.

There's certainly a buzz around the place, and there always is around Anzac Day. The matches are just getting bigger and bigger every year, and the media makes it massive.

You just know there is going to be a huge crowd there, so that's always a reason why the boys get up for them.

Most of the time, they are terrific games too. They're almost like a mini-final, and they are the closest thing to one.

The boys trained on Tuesday, and they are pretty excited, pretty bubbly, and even though they only played a couple of days ago, they're ready to go.

The Bombers have been very good in the past few weeks, and it looks like they've reinvented themselves a bit from last year. They've got some speed in their side, and they have good ball use and some pretty handy players.

They're a new outfit and they're playing accordingly. We've done a fair bit of research on blokes like Paddy Ryder, Alwyn Davey and their really talented younger players. It's pretty hard to do a lot of research on them because they've only been playing for a few weeks.

We have the gist of the way they go about it though, and they're very talented. The side is very quick, and we have to try and combat that and put a couple of our strengths together to win the game.

Adam McPhee is obviously a dangerous player for them because of the way he goes about it across the half-back line, and James Hird is always good, especially in games like Anzac Day. Matthew Lloyd, Scott Lucas and blokes like Angus Monfries can be dangerous, so they have a few players who can get them going.

It will be a matter of us doing the right job. We've done our homework and now we just need to see how we'll go.

I do believe there is such a thing as a big-stage player. Some players really lift for big occasions, and the reason why they are special is because they can do it under enormous pressure. When you get on the big stage, there is quite often more pressure than normal.

Now, Dale Thomas is certainly one. He plays very well in big games. He plays well in normal games, and even better in big games. He's a classic example of a big occasion player, and obviously from the opposition, Hird is terrific and seems like he wins the Anzac Day medal every second year.

So it's one for us and one for them – hopefully we'll get the win.

Much has been made about the conditions we both played in last week, but I don't think it's going to affect either of us. I think it was all a bit of media hype – we played in the wet, fair enough, and they played on a hard surface.

It probably evens itself out at the end of the day, as when you run out at 2.40pm on Wednesday, it's all forgotten. Whoever wins the game won't go back and think, they had it harder than us.

When you run out, you're even. We've had the same amount of time, and I don't think there is much in it. Recovery has been a very important phase this week, obviously, and it's all been about recovery with no main training session.

We got down to the Sea Baths, and while I don't really know the scientific benefits of being in the water, the salt is meant to have an effect on the healing process. It also has something to do with the massage effect when they are walking through the water.

Hopefully it all helps us.

I'm envious of the boys looking forward to Anzac Day. I would love to be out there, but that's not realistic and I'm just excited for them. I've been there and had those games and they have been fantastic.

To see them get excited about it is great. There's no doubt about that. Particularly the younger kids, it's so exciting for them. I'd love to be out there, but I get the next best thing - to ride out the match from the coaches' box.