Rex Liddy will fulfil a dream when he and his Suns teammates play Richmond in tomorrow's historic game in Cairns. Since the first time he kicked a Sherrin growing up in the remote Far North community of Hope Vale, Rex Liddy wondered what it’d be like to play an AFL game in Cairns. Tomorrow, he gets to find out.
The 19-year-old joins Cairns-bred teammates Charlie Dixon and Jarrod Harbrow in the Suns team to play Richmond in the first regular-season AFL clash to be hosted at Cazalys. Liddy, who has played two senior matches since debuting for the Suns in round 12, said his relatives from Hope Vale were travelling south for the fixture.
"I think I’ll be a bit nervous (knowing they’re in the crowd), but I’ll be excited as well," he said. "Hopefully, there’s more excitement than nervousness. I’ve always wanted to come back up and play a game of AFL for a senior team. Now I’ve got the chance to do it in front of my own people."
Liddy gets his chance in a Suns line-up which includes AFL star Gary Ablett, who has recovered from a knee injury sustained in the heavy loss to Sydney last week. But Karmichael Hunt, who is continuing to make the difficult transition from rugby league and rugby union, is being rested for the round 17 clash. Liddy admits he’s still finding his feet in the AFL as he adjusts to the increased tempo of senior football.
"It’s way harder than what I thought it’d be," Liddy said. "The speed and the physicality – it all happens in the blink of an eye. As soon as you drop the ball it’s going back up the other way. You’ve got to step up to a whole other level, but I’m really enjoying it so far. I played a couple of games and then got sent back to the reserves for a couple of weeks. I just kept playing my natural game and luckily I got called up for the Cairns match."
With the Suns boasting a strong playing connection to the Far North, Liddy expects the Cazalys crowd to be on their side.
"There’ll be a few Richmond fans there, but I think everyone else will be cheering for us," he said.
The Tigers will hold an open training session at Cazalys today from 2.30-3.30pm and after that the Suns and Tigers players will be involved in a free super clinic from 3.30-5pm. Tomorrow’s game starts at 2.10pm.
Read more at http://www.cairns.com.au/article/2011/07/15/174061_local-news.html
Courtesy of The Cairns Post.
Last Modified on 15/07/2011 08:51