LEIGH Matthews has never been one to be caught up in the media, but I know for a fact that he keeps one eye on the papers. I found this out at the start of the 1994 season when I was interviewed about my approaching first game for Collingwood.

They were exciting times for me and at one stage in the interview, I let my guard down and said what I really felt. "I can't wait to run out onto the MCG and play against Carlton." And the headline the next day read like that.

No real issue there, except for the fact that my round-one game was against Fitzroy at Victoria Park. We weren't scheduled to play Carlton until round two.

Needless to say, the coach wasn't pleased with my youthful exuberance — the ammunition for Fitzroy was obvious — and I learned that lesson pretty quickly after a two-minute chat to the coach the next day.

The previous year, I had played 20 AFL games with the Brisbane Bears, four of them at the MCG with an average crowd of 15,000. But despite seeing more grandstand than crowd in the arena, I had loved every minute. It had given me a taste for the bigger stage, which was now practically on my doorstep.

When the draw was posted in 1994, I scanned it for the big MCG games. The game against Carlton, a traditional rival, in front of a full house at the home of football, was in many ways the fulfilment of a lifelong dream.

The real thing didn't let me down. The MCG was near capacity and the 85,000-strong crowd provided a playing environment I hadn't experienced in my first year. The crowd noise was almost deafening and I soon learned that any attempt to call for the ball was fruitless — you couldn't hear a teammate from more than five metres away. But you could hear an opponent chasing you down the wing, the crowd would tell you that!

In these big matches, the crowd plays a massive part in the game. The emotion from both sets of supporters spills over the fence and shifts in momentum and opportunities are highlighted by the crowd's reaction.

When Mick McGuane kicked his famous seven-bounce goal from the centre that day, I was sure the stand had fallen down. Fifteen years later, I've rarely felt energy like that on the football field.

Over time, and with more of these games under your belt, you can't help but become numbed to that experience as it becomes more normal. But for those that play in front of big crowds less frequently, the opportunity brings an intensity and arousal level that Mick Malthouse discussed during the week.

His term "blockbuster fatigue" is a concept based on the cumulative requirements of matching the intensity of opponents who are less exposed to these big-game atmospheres. It's a valid call, and one that comes irrespective of the result, because it is the manner in which these games are played that takes a toll.

If those comments had come from the president or chief executive, he would have been strung up, because financially, clubs benefit enormously from the chance to play in these games.

But it came from a coach whose sole responsibility is to win games and who has watched the phenomenon of blockbusters season after season. It's a theory that's hard to rebuke.

Collingwood is a team that everyone loves to hate and, by extension, the team they love to beat. While this sentiment, in the main, begins with the supporters on the other side of the fence, it is common sense that some of it seeps onto the field and into the minds of the combatants.

With this culture firmly entrenched, the passion for and against the Magpies has meant they play in a lot of marquee games. The traditional rivalries against Carlton and Richmond are often played twice a year, Anzac Day against Essendon is huge and dictates a second meeting before the year's end. Then there is the Collingwood versus Sydney game that was instituted as a stand-alone celebration of the game's national status, and there is the Queen's Birthday contest against Melbourne.

That means at least a third of the Magpies' home-and-away schedule involves highly publicised matches that pull big crowds and demand interest over and above a "normal" home-and-away game.

The cynic in me says that all these games are still worth four premiership points and a footballer would not be motivated to try harder just because more people are watching.

I always championed against the myth that teams find something extra for a milestone match. I wondered why players needed extra motivation to play with intensity — it should be there every opportunity they get.

But the fact is that motivation ebbs and flows in AFL football, despite its professional status. Teams are made of individuals and individuals can have good or bad days, can be switched on or off, and the catalysts that a big match provides pushes all the right buttons for a footballer. Just like that first Carlton match did for me as a young Magpie.

It's probably a challenge that reigning premiers face the year after their success. Everyone wants to knock them over and teams "get up" for their contests. It takes a toll and is a main reason why consecutive premierships are so rare and so grand. Blockbuster, or big-game, fatigue is a real issue and Collingwood is one team that has to deal with it.

I've recently formed a theory about the Collingwood game plan and its effectiveness throughout the season. Like all teams, the Magpies rely on a high level of intensity around the ball to execute their game plan, but I believe that when that intensity is off by a couple of per cent, the Pies are affected more than most. They become vulnerable defensively and ineffective in attack.

Perhaps this is an indicator of why the Pies can be brilliant against the best opposition — in particular, in finals — yet beatable against sides many would assess as guaranteed wins. In the past two weeks against West Coast and Melbourne, Collingwood has shown a maturity to handle that very issue.

Tomorrow shapes as another big game on the Collingwood calendar, just as it is for the young Carlton team. The Blues have elevated themselves to the cusp of the top eight and have enough talent to worry very good football sides — in fact, they are showing the makings of being a very good side themselves.

The players will love the atmosphere on the ground. The roar of the crowd will lift and challenge them, the momentum shifts and opportunities will be obvious as their supporters' emotions ebb and flow.

Playing these blockbusters is a great opportunity for all of the players involved and for the first time in a long time there is something more than pride for the Collingwood and Carlton tribes to fight for. This week's four points are crucial to each side and they will be well earned either way.