More than 50 members of the Visentini family are set to pack into Marvel Stadium on Sunday to watch brothers Dante and Vigo line up against each other for the first time at AFL level.
Vigo has impressed in the last fortnight for the Bombers with his aggression at ground level complementing his competitiveness aerially and in the ruck, while Dante earned praise from coach Josh Carr as one of the rare silver-linings
“You can see they're both gentle giants off the field but on the field they're pretty happy to have a crack so that won't change, they might even be a bit more sharp," Paul Visentini, Dad of Vigo and Dante, told Zero Hanger.
“In Vigo's first game, I said ‘make sure you give your brother a whack when you play against each other so we'll see how they go."
Dante and Vigo's maternal grandmother has knitted a scarf with both Essendon and Port Adelaide colours for the family to wear at the game.
There might be little on the line for both sides on Sunday, with a loss locking up Pick 1 for the Bombers and Port Adelaide unable to move from 15th position, but don't expect that to have a bearing on how the Xavier College graduates approach the game.
“They're entertainers so they'll keep the people happy, the grandparents, the people at the footy club," Paul said.
"And it is a bit of a carnival that keeps on moving, the AFL, so stay involved, use it in the right way and have fun and entertain people.”
Vigo's form in recent weeks has sparked discussion externally about how the Bombers should best utilise their top pick, with hulking ruck Harry Van Hattum among the names linked.
With Lachie Blakiston assuming the ruck role early as a stop-gap option and Nick Bryan yet to find consistency at 24, Van Hattum seemed an ideal fit, but Vigo is showing he could, in time, assuming the primary ruck mantle, and Essendon have plenty of other areas of the ground to address.
Meanwhile, Dante is not only making an impact on the field at Port Adelaide, but is also making his mark off the field, currently the club's AFLPA representative following the retirement of Ivan Soldo.
The pair have spent much of their career as rucks but with Vigo currently the second ruck/key forward at the Bombers behind Nick Bryan and Dante playing a strong fortnight in defence, it could be in Essendon's forward 50 that the brothers do direct battle.
But Paul quipped that sister, Siena, is the best performed footballer in the family.
“The three siblings are very close and the boys have helped each other navigate the vagaries of AFL footy but Siena is the best performed footballer in the family,” Paul laughed.
“She won a league best and fairest playing ammos for Old Brighton. The boys haven't won a Brownlow yet.
“They had a very healthy spirit of competition and were always improving each other.”
It will also be a special day for the Brighton Beach Junior Football Club, with Dante and Vigo the only two alumni on AFL lists. Albert MacGowan could follow them at this year's AFL National Draft, while the club currently has Nick Dal Santo's son, Stewart Loewe's son and Nick Riewoldt's son among its members and AFL staffer Nick Hulett is a junior coach.
The club still has the weekly Dante award it gives to the best clubman.
Neither had yet turned 12 when they lined up on the same field, as teammates at Brighton Beach when Vigo played as a bottom-ager and Dante was playing as an over-ager and they have never been opponents.
“It's an incredible thing. Grandpa Visentini has been unwell for the last 18 months but we're rolling him out,” Paul said.
“He sheds a tear because they can't stop saying Visentini on the TV. He comes (to Australia) with nothing, and the last thing he expects is to have grandsons who are megastars to their fan bases.”
Both players are contracted until the end of 2027.
Paul is particularly pleased to see Vigo thriving late in the year, having had two separate hamstring injuries which has limited his ability to play his best footy this year.
“It's good reward. It's been hard. The rehab group for 18 weeks when you're 20 years old is hard and rucks are already a bit isolated,” Paul noted.
“You see the tougher end as a parent and get the rewards like this weekend so it will be good to celebrate.
“I just want them to enjoy it, soak it up, have fun and go hard. They don't need to change a thing they're doing.
"If I got 300 tickets, I'd give them all away to my people because there has been a lot of people involved and we want the right people to be able to celebrate."
