The stars have aligned for Geelong forward Brad Close as he reaches a significant AFL milestone.
The South Australian product will play his 100th game for the Cats in the qualifying final against Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval on Thursday night.
And the childhood Crows fan will get the chance to break Power hearts in the process.
But Geelong need to reverse a trend after falling short in both recent clashes with Port at this exact point of the season.
Close had the misfortune of sitting amongst the home supporters as an emergency player when the Cats lost in 2020, and was in the team the following year when they again tasted defeat.
“Being in the crowd was probably worse than being on the field,” Close told AAP.
“It was noisy as (anything) and we didn’t get the result that night. It was pretty crazy.
“It’s a tough place to play and I’m sure people feel the same when they come down to Geelong.”
Port Adelaide were at their brutal best in the first half when the teams last met – in round nine – before hanging on for a narrow win at Kardinia Park.
The Power engine room led by Connor Rozee, Zak Butters and Jason Horne-Francis has Geelong on guard.
“They’ve got plenty of weapons and you look at their midfield to begin with, it’s very strong,” Close said.
“They’ve got some tall key defenders as well that we’ll have to try to mitigate.
“It’s going to be tough but it’s one of those seasons where any team that plays well on the night can win. It will be just about executing.”
Close backed a remodelled Geelong forward-line to fire in the absence of Tom Hawkins, who is fighting to overcome a foot injury to play a role in the premiership push before he retires.
Three-time flag hero Hawkins has been out of the team since round 15, leaving All-Australian Jeremy Cameron as the main target alongside inexperienced tall Shannon Neale.
Six Cats – Cameron, Neale, Close, Tyson Stengle, Ollie Henry and Ollie Dempsey – have kicked more than 20 goals this season to spread the load.
“There was a bit of a hole left by ‘Hawk’ but Shannon Neale’s been ready all year and he’s come in and played some really good footy,” Close said.
“The rest of the group are really working well to fill the gap and hopefully we can see ‘Hawk’ back before the end of the season.
“The way we work together is something we work hard at on the track and it’s a fun forward group to be part of.”
Close, 26, pinches himself when reminded he is entering the fourth finals series of his five seasons at Geelong after being recruited from SANFL club Glenelg.
But the 2022 premiership forward remains focused and the task of securing a second medal.
“I’ve been lucky to come into a side that before last year had played in at least a prelim in each of my years at the club, and a couple of grand finals,” Close said.
“There’s plenty of experience in the group and hopefully we can utilise that.
“We’ve had a bit of an up-and-down year and there’s probably still improvement to go, but we’ve had a couple of weeks to get it right and be really prepared for Port Adelaide.”
