The nerves have gone and he’s even spilled his first bit of blood in preparation for a resumption in hostilities against his former club.

Lachie Neale admits that in the days before his previous and first meeting against former club Fremantle, he was experiencing a few jitters.

It would be no surprise if some of his teammates are feeling similar sensations ahead of the return of footy on Saturday, given they haven’t experienced the real heat of an AFL match since the competition was postponed after round one due to Covid 19. 

But the reigning club champion has a nice little split above his eye courtesy of some friendly fire in an intra-club match on Friday that he reckons is just about the perfect  preparation for what he might face against the Dockers at the Gabba on Saturday.

He eve reckons it was fitting that Mitch Hinge, who grew up in a neighbouring farming community in South Australia to Neale’s, was the culprit given tho two towns had a long-standing rivalry.

“A bit of an elbow to the eye last week, it’s a nice gentle reminder that footy is back,’’ he said.

The Dockers arrived at their Gold Coast hub on Tuesday and will play the first of four games in Queensland against Brisbane.

Neale was bombarded by media attention ahead of their clash last year and admits it was a distraction that led him to playing the game in his head repeatedly before the ball was even bounced.

This time he is as calm as can be.

"I feel pretty relaxed, obviously these are unique circumstances at the moment but I feel really good," he said.

 "Last time I was a lot more nervous, probably thought about the game too much before I played it, had different things going on in my head.

"This time I'm just really relaxed and looking forward to playing, like the rest of the competition."