“Obviously now with ‘Chappy’ (Paul Chapman), and Bomber (Mark Thompson) who has been there a couple of years, it holds a bit more significance, probably, from outside the club, supporters like to drum up that sort of thing,” Cats defender Andrew Mackie said.
Chapman, who played 251 games for Geelong, was traded to Essendon at the end of last season after his contract with the Cats was not renewed.
“I can’t wait to get out there and see who lines up on ‘Chappy’ and who ‘Chappy’ wants to get stuck into,” Duncan said.
Each year when the two clubs meet it is anything but boring, with Duncan citing when Essendon broke the Cats winning streak in 2011.
“Essendon are a very good side and have been for a very long period of time, we always seem to have close games against them,” Duncan said.
“Any game against the Bombers is always competitive,” Steven Motlop added.
Veteran Andrew Mackie said the Cats have a lot of respect for the current talented, up and coming Essendon side and that the game will undoubtedly draw an exciting crowd.
“It’s always good coming up against the big Victorian clubs, you get a big crowd and a lot of people watching,” Mackie said.
To hear more about the rivalry between the Cats and the Bombers, click on the link above.
