No one embraces Retro Round like Patrick Dangerfield.

Emerging from his Ford Ranger pre-game like an extra from Top Gun, the original, not the new one, it was clear a lot of thought and planning had gone into the entrance. 

And what a grand entrance it was. 

Some said ‘Highway to the Dangerzone’ could be heard from inside the truck as he pulled in, or maybe it was Kate Bush’s ‘Running up that Hill’, but as the door cracked open, a fresh Nike Air Max hit the bitumen, it felt like retro round had officially begun.

As the flash of the cameras bounced off his aviators and kids scrambled for autographs, the full kit, in all its magnificence, was revealed. 

Air Max, acid wash denim, and a gloriously vintage Cats blazer. 

Teammate Zach Tuohy put it to the man himself after the game: how much time was put into the choice of outfit? 

“Not a huge amount of time I just pictured it right away,” he claimed.

“It was the Air Max's with the white socks tucked into the acid-washed denim jeans into the Cats blazer.”

While the vision may have been clear early, building the perfect entrance outfit takes time and preparation. 

“Retro Round means a lot to me,” he said.

“I hadn't thought about the game at all this week, it's been about how good that kit would look and what glasses to go with it.”