When Collingwood host North Melbourne in front of a sell-out crowd at Marvel Stadium on Friday night, it will be some 2534 days between prime-time, Friday night fixtures in Victoria for the Kangaroos.
It's unfathomable, really, given the men in royal blue and white were the architects of the concept in its current form, some 40-odd years ago.
A lot has changed in footy, and life as we know it, since the Kangas last ran out onto the Docklands' carpet with the eyes of the landscape affixed to them, courtesy of the marquee time slot.
Take a look at just what has changed in the time since the Kangaroos faced the Hawks in August of 2019.
2. Covid had not yet gripped the globe
This game happened long before snap lockdowns, five-click radii, n95 respirators and RAT tests joined the lexicon.
It was played before footy was played in "bubbles" and players were herded in hubs. Before the Melbourne Demons broke their drought, and before grand finals were, unfathomably, played away from the home of the footy. Before Collingwood played Carlton in front of nobody, before Dusty's second and third Norms, before the younger Daicos' drafting, debut and first 110 games, and most certainly, before the AFL introduced the lasso rule.
Before Fyfe took "Charlie" home a second time, before "Buddy" kicked his 1000th, before "Jezza" became a Cat, before the Lions climbed out of the cellar, and before the Eagles fell into it. Heck, Brayden Sier hadn't even morphed into Phil Inn when this game was played.
Safe to say, it's been a minute.
