Nine times out of 10, the home team is going to be the favourite but you just accept the challenge and take it up.
Playing against Adelaide in Adelaide has been the toughest task in my career. We’ve only ever won one game playing the Crows at AAMI Stadium. Their gameplan is really effective and they match up against us really well.
We’ve beaten Port Adelaide a few times over there, but even beating them is very hard. Both the South Australian teams play their ground really well and we’ve really struggled there in years gone by.
It’s the same with the teams from WA – whether you’re playing West Coast or Fremantle, both those teams play significantly better at home.
It is a daunting task to go to the west and come away with the four points but it’s something we’ve been able to do a few times in the last couple of years.
To my mind, the only really difficult trip in Victoria is taking on Geelong at Skilled Stadium.
Any other team you play in Melbourne, you’re playing at Docklands or the MCG and you give yourself a fair chance, because a lot of your teammates have played on that ground.
That’s where interstate teams get their advantage – some visiting players might never have played at that ground.
When Rhyce Shaw took the field against Carlton last weekend, it was the first time he’d played on the SCG. He plays for the Swans now and he’s spent hours training there but he’d never played there with Collingwood.
You do notice a difference with each different ground you play at, just purely from size.
When you’re at Subiaco, it gives certain players in your team an opportunity to get out in space and run a bit more. The not-so-quick blokes in our team who love the hard one-on-one stuff love playing at home at the SCG, because there’s not that much space.
We’ve got players in our group that are suited to different types of grounds and it plays into different players’ strengths, depending on whether we’re travelling or at home.
This week, we’re heading to Perth to take on Fremantle. We’ll fly over on Wednesday and we’ll follow the same preparation that’s served us well in recent years.
About three years ago, our fitness and medical staff thought it would be a good idea to travel several days before the game.
It just gives us a better opportunity to get used to the surroundings, the training venues, the bed that you’ll be sleeping in and just that two hours’ difference in time. We’ve found it really helps.
But as satisfying as it is to win a game in enemy territory, there are no better wins than those at home in front of your own supporters.
It’s one thing to have a home ground advantage, but you need the supporters and people to get behind the team when they play at home.
You want to establish a mental edge over opposition teams, so that the next time they come to your home ground, they’re going to remember the last time they played there and they’re going to be fearing you.
For us to have 30,000 people come and support us in our first SCG home game was fantastic and that’s what really makes a home ground advantage.
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
