My former team-mates have already dished out plenty of playful banter back when I came out of retirement to join the Lions last October - but it was all in good fun.
I obviously still have some really good friends down at Whitten Oval, considering I played the bulk of my AFL career with the Dogs (88 games), but there will be no holding back against my old mates come Saturday afternoon.
There will be favours particularly for Robert Murphy, who so often used my name to fill in words for his popular articles in The Age.
He’s a good man Bob, but he owes a lot to me for helping build his career off the field. Maybe I should start requesting some royalties from his newspaper pay checks!
There will also be a fair amount of historical flavour surrounding this Saturday’s game in Melbourne, with the Club celebrating its inaugural Hall of Fame that night.
I’ve been along to a few of the Western Bulldogs Hall of Fame nights in the past, and find them fascinating events.
I admit that when I first came to the Club, I didn’t know a hell of a lot about the Lions’ history - other than the fact they formed from a merger between Fitzroy and the Bears, and won a lot of Premierships in the early 2000s.
However, when I was named to make my debut for the Lions back in Round 1, I was given a booklet which listed out all the players who have previously worn the Number 22 throughout the Club’s 100+ year history.
There were 46 of them in total, including me.
The most recognisable were the ones whose names appear on my locker door - guys like Chris Scott, Ken Ross, Noel Price and Charlie Norris.
With the exception of Chris Scott, I didn’t know much about the others, although I later read that both Price and Norris were involved in Fitzroy Premierships back in the day.
Upon further research, I also found that the jumper was also worn by Bob Merrick, who holds the record for most goals in a single match for the Lions (12), and even former Geelong great Ken Hinkley, who played a handful of games for Fitzroy in the late 80s.
No doubt the Hall of Fame will help further educate me, and some of my younger Lions team-mates, on the long and proud history this Club has built over the years.
