Former Magpies Anthony Rocca and Simon Prestigiacomo teamed up for the first time in three seasons against Eltham in round four action for the Northern Football League.
Providing further intrigue to the contest, Rocca lined up on Kris Pendlebury, VFL skipper and older brother to Scott.
Collingwoodfc.com.au sat down with Rocca to find out how he handled his first run since he played for the Magpies in the qualifying loss to St Kilda in 2009.
Jonathon Bernard (Collingwoodfc.com.au): Why did you sign up with West Preston Lakeside this year
Anthony Rocca: I signed up for two reasons.
One, because I used to play for the ‘Lakies’ (Reservoir Lakeside has since merged with West Preston) in my junior days before I went to the Northern Knights.
Second, I want to get fit again. All last year I struggled with my foot and that’s why I didn’t play any footy. Towards the end of the year my achilles felt good. I wanted to be part of a team structure again.
JB: How many games are you intending on playing this year
AR: I have signed up for six or seven games depending on Collingwood’s VFL schedule (Rocca is now an assistant coach for the VFL team).
JB: Who else is playing with West Preston
AR: Simon Goodwin (former Adelaide Crow and current assistant coach for Essendon) is playing. He didn’t play last week due to Essendon’s VFL commitments. Presti (Simon Prestigiacomo) played last week and should play most of the games. There is also another former Pie there, Billy Morrison, who used to be on the list a few years ago (pick 17 in the 2003 draft).
JB: Talk to me about the game.
AR: I got to the ground pretty early. My family or as you would say, ‘posse’, of about 20 friends also came down to support.
JB: Did West Preston have a guernsey in your size
AR: Absoultely. I was number 34. It was a bit bigger than what I expected.
JB: Did you start out at full forward
AR: Yep. I lined up on Kris Pendlebury. He played me from behind for most of the day, which was good because we wanted to minimise the possibility of injury for both him and myself.
JB: Kris, was that the most experienced player you have lined up on to date
Kris Pendlebury: Yeah, it was. He kicked one on me early and then slowly ran out of puff. I was able to run off him a few times.
JB: Pebs, were there advantages to playing on a defender who you coach in the VFL side
AR: At the time, I didn’t think he used his voice enough at the VFL level. But playing on me, I heard him a few times out there and even though he didn’t know his teammates, he directed the traffic, which was good to hear.
As a coach it’s tough to pick up on those things. Definitely a unique experience.
JB: What did you kick for the afternoon
AR: I kicked one out on the full and ended with 2.3. Should have been three or four.
JB: Kris, how did you handle the big fella
KP: I played him two or three steps back and when the ball came in, I put in a big jump to knock it away.
JB: What did he say to you after the game
KP: He mumbled something out like ‘good game’. The coach threw him in the ruck towards the end and it was fair to say he was stuffed when the siren went.
JB: Pebs, did you maintain your AFL routine in the lead up to last Saturday’s match
AR: I never really had a routine. On Saturday I wore white boots for the first time in my career. You have to do those things when you are no longer on the big scene. I had to wear a white jumper with white shorts and it was not a good look on me.
JB: How did Presti go
AR: Presti was down the other end and came to the forward line for a little bit. It wasn’t a good day for him. We got beaten by seven goals.
I think Presti let those seven through.
JB: And how were those umpires
AR: The umps were OK.
One of the points I kicked was out of the ruck. I quickly put it on my boot and the ball got touched on the way down on my boot and then I kicked it through. The ump signaled it was touched and I said to him, “Mate, how could you have seen it’ He was adamant he saw it.
It’s hard because if you swear at the umpires you are off with a yellow card straight away. Two yellow cards and it’s a red and you are gone for the day.
JB: That would have been tough for you.
AR: That’s suburban football.
