Recognising history is something that the Club really prides itself on.

I probably wasn’t too aware of the Club’s past when I first arrived in Brisbane, other than that the fact it was formed from a merger between Fitzroy and the Bears in the mid-90s.

I would have only been 11 or 12 years old at the time, and because I lived in Adelaide all that really mattered to me back then was Tony Modra and the Crows.

But the past eight seasons have certainly opened my eyes to a lot.

You can’t help but get caught up in events like last year’s Hall of Fame in Melbourne, or even the 3-Peat Anniversary Lunch in Brisbane earlier this year.

I now get a thrill every time I see AFL Legend Kevin Murray in the changerooms, even though I admit to having no idea who he was before joining the Club.

That’s why it’s such a special occasion when you get to honour that history by wearing a guernsey from the past.

The boys were pumped when they got the chance to wear the Fitzroy heritage guernsey in Victoria last season, and they’re just as excited about the thought of pulling on the jumper that was worn in the 2001-2003 Grand Finals.

What’s even better is that we get to wear it twice – once in Melbourne (Round 8) and once in Brisbane (Round 10).

Even though I wore that same design in my first four years at the Lions, it will have a greater significance for me now knowing that we’ll be honouring those great sides from the past.

It also helps give our younger guys a bit of a history lesson.

Someone like Sam Mayes, for example, would’ve still been in nappies when the Lions were formed in 1997 and in Primary School when the Club won its last flag.

The Club does its best to educate the young guys by presenting them with a booklet in the lead-up to their first AFL game. The books include a detailed history of the Club itself, as well as information on the players who have worn that particular number in the past.

I had a flick through Maysey’s and enjoyed reading up on some of the other guys who wore the Number 32 before him – like Premiership hero Shaun Hart, Fitzroy’s Jason Baldwin, and even my old teammate Cheynee Stiller.

Small things like this help give these guys an immediate attachment to their jumper. 

No doubt we’ll all take great pride in wearing the 3-Peat guernsey against Essendon and the Pies in a few weeks’ time, just as we take great pride in wearing the current jumper week-in week-out.