Eels' Kieran Foran ready for emotional rollercoaster when he faces Manly at Brookvale Oval
KIERAN Foran is ready for a rollercoaster when he heads into unchartered territory on Thursday night — playing against Manly at a hostile Brookvale Oval.
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KIERAN Foran is ready for an emotional rollercoaster as he heads into unchartered territory — playing against Manly at a hostile Brookvale Oval — for the first time.
The star Parramatta recruit admitted Manly fans may still harbor some “disappointment and anger” about his painful departure after a season of turmoil in 2015.
“It will be emotional — but I can’t get caught up in the hype,” Foran said.
Foran’s return to Fortress Brookie - a ground where he helped Manly to the 2011 premiership and 2013 grand final - will give Thursday night’s grudge match added spark.
Foran is unsure how the Brookie faithful will treat him.
“It will depend on how they feel about things, whether there is still some disappointment and angry about me leaving or whether they have moved on.
“I’m not sure what to expect, to be honest. I don’t how I will be received. It would be nice to be well received but I also know what fans are like and how passionate they are about their clubs.
“I won’t let it faze me too much one way or the other. Look, I loved every minute of my time at Manly. To have played in two grand finals there, to have won a competition there with those guys, you remember that for the rest of your life.
“Being such a Fortress, going there as a visitor, in the visiting sheds, in the opposing team, I’m not too sure what I will feel.
“I think it will be emotional to a degree. I’ve got so many fond memories, so many great years there with the boys and the club. It will be different.
“You start out at a club, and I was fortunate to come into such a great side at Manly with so many great players at such a young age. I thought I’d never leave the joint and Brookie would be my home for my entire career.
“But I got to a point where felt like I needed a change and freshen-up. I decided to leave. But it was very hard to walk away, to make that decision to leave the clubs and the guys behind.
“But it’s business as usual now for me. I have moved on - I’m now at Parramatta, that’s just the way it is.’’
Foran said he would feel “strange” entering and leaving the visitor’s dressing room at Brookie. And fans will no doubt find it unusual seeing Foran run onto his former home ground in blue and gold.
“It will be strange — I don’t know what emotions I will be feeling. I know that it will be a different feeling to what I have become used to over the years. I have always turned up at Brookie and walked into the home sheds,” Foran said.
“I formed great friendships and great mates over there. I owe a lot to them. A lot of those blokes helped develop me as a player and person. I’ve got a lot to thank them for in terms of my career, those combinations and what I built with those guys over the years, that helped shape me into the player I am today.”
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Originally published as Eels' Kieran Foran ready for emotional rollercoaster when he faces Manly at Brookvale Oval
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