Once a Magpie. Forever a Roo.

Anthony Stevens still remembers the day his childhood love for Collingwood disappeared for good.

“We had some great battles at Victoria Park over a few years,” Stevens recalls.

“One day, I was playing against Tony Francis, and I was actually doing OK against him.

“The old race at Victoria Park used to go through the middle of the Collingwood members, and as I was walking through, an old lady was yelling at me and giving me a cook. I looked up and laughed at her, and she spat straight in my face and from that day onwards, I never barracked for the dirty Magpies again.”

It was quite the statement from a youngster who’d spent his younger days idolising Peter Daicos and Darren Millane growing up in Waaia, three hours out of Melbourne.

“Going down to North Melbourne was pretty scary. I was a country boy. I’d probably seen, maybe one or two games in my lifetime when I went down there to the club as a 17-year old.

“Then all of a sudden I was playing my first game against Collingwood who I barracked for as a junior and to play against my two heroes was pretty awesome, and pretty surreal. You pinched yourself and couldn’t believe you were actually out on the ground doing it.”

Stevens’ passion for North grew quickly and he soon bled royal blue and white.  Despite his run-in at Victoria Park, his respect for the opposition never wavered.

“As far as rivals go, Collingwood is one of the clubs that really stands out for me,” he added.

“Mainly because in the early nineties, they were one of the toughest opponents to conquer and we were coming up against some of the great players in that era.”

It’s a rivalry that has extended to the modern day, and the former number 10 says he’s excited by the prospect of presenting the match-ball to the umpires at North’s first home game.

“It’s an honour to be asked, especially against the old club that I barracked for as a kid and had some great battles with during my playing career.”

Stevens will be joined by his son in the middle and says he can’t wait to stand alongside the Kangaroos’ team once again.

When the formalities are over, he’ll be cheering on his old team until the final siren.