40 years to the day after making his NRL debut with the Penrith Panthers, Greg Alexander will be front and centre as his nephew, Mavrik Geyer dons the same jersey for his maiden first grade game on Thursday night.
Mavrik, the son of Panthers’ premiership hero Mark Geyer, was named on the bench for the blockbuster clash against the Sydney Roosters, as the reigning champions battle a long list of injuries.
The 23-year-old admitted he had chances to play first grade at other clubs but opted to bide his time with the Panthers in order to carry on the legacy of his famous father and uncles.
Whilst the debut has significant importance for both Geyer and Alexander families, the date of Thursday night’s clash means a lot to the SEN 1170 Breakfast host.
“I nearly drove off the road (after hearing Mavrik would debut 40 years after him),” Alexander said on SEN 1170 Breakfast.
“I quickly finished the show with Vossy yesterday and I had to get out to Penrith, as I was driving out Dean Ritchie called me and said, ‘Brandy did you know you debuted, tomorrow, 40 years ago’.
“I didn’t of course, 28th of March isn’t a date that sort of is important to me but he pointed it out, I always regarded the next week as my debut game because I always thought your debut game was when you started.
“It was only last year that I recalled (when) I ran on against Manly the week before for a 15-minute stint, so the debut was the week before I thought it was.”
Alexander opened up on the jersey presentation for Maverik on Wednesday afternoon and praised the club for it’s hospitality to the family.
“It was fantastic, it really was,” Alexander added.
“Megan (Alexander’s sister and Maverik’s mother) got such a buzz out of it, she said, ‘I couldn’t believe the reception we got from the team’.
“Even MG (Mark Geyer) said, ‘Mate, that blew me away just what the team and the staff were like’.
“Megan grew up in a footy family (but) she said, ‘I’ve experienced a lot of things in footy, highs, lows (but) handing that jersey out yesterday, walking into that shed and getting that reception from those boys was as good as it gets’.”
Mavrik will make his debut off the bench for the Panthers in the No.17 jersey.