Dan Menzel says Sydney debut will be extra special playing against ex-club Geelong

Dan Menzel will feel right at home when he makes his long-awaited Sydney debut against his former Geelong teammates, but there’s no time to be sentimental.

Daniel Menzel will make his Sydney debut against his former club. Picture: Phil Hillyard

Dan Menzel is refusing to write off the Swans’ finals hopes as he reminds himself not to wander into the wrong set of sheds on Saturday.

The 27-year-old will finally make his first appearance for John Longmire’s men when he lines up against his former club, ladder leaders Geelong.

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He admits it will be an extra special occasion, at a venue he knows so well. But there’ll be no sentiment after the first bounce.

“It’s been a long time coming for me,” he told The Saturday Telegraph.

“It’s really exciting and I just can’t wait to have a run around with the boys. Surreal is definitely the way to put it. It’s a fixture I’d pencilled in a while out.

“I’ve had a couple of texts (from the Geelong camp) but I actually saw a lot of the boys last week. They played at the Gold Coast and so did the NEAFL team. A lot of the boys said ‘we’ll see you next week, then’.

“I have no doubt I’ll hear a little bit of it (verbals) today.

“They’re obviously going very well but it’s a really important game for us and we need to play well. We have to get the job done down there.”

Daniel Menzel at the SCG in his Sydney jumper. Picture: Phil Hillyard

Off-season groin surgery has delayed his introduction but some short term pain is worth the gain in the forward’s eyes.

“It’s frustrating but having had the surgery I could feel the benefit of straight away. “I’ve always known it was going to be worth it down the track,” Menzel said.

“The surgery has alleviated all the pain I’ve had the past couple of years. To be able to train back-to-back days has been awesome for me. I feel a lot more confident in my body.

“As for the team, we obviously still want to make the finals. That’s a massive goal and when you look at our list on paper we’ve certainly got the potential to do it. We’ve just got to put it together, which we have been the last month, and now we have to turn those games into wins.”

There’s also the small matter of linking up with Lance Franklin.

“I’ve obviously spent a lot of time with Bud as we were both doing rehab after our (groin) ops,” he said.

“We’re obviously going to play in the same forward line together and hopefully gel together so to get that relationship going off the field and bounce off each other has certainly helped.”