IT’s the kind of record you don’t set out wanting to achieve at the start of a football career, and one Tom Rockliff has admitted may stop him sleeping on Wednesday night.

After 204 AFL games without playing a final, Rockliff holds the record for a current player yet to play in a final.

He will finally get his chance on Thursday night against Geelong, when Port Adelaide hosts a Qualifying Final at Adelaide Oval.

“I haven’t thought about it too much,” he said at a press conference on Monday. “Every time I do, I get a few butterflies in the stomach so I’ve tried to put it aside.

“At the moment, it feels like a normal week but there’s no doubt the build up over the next couple of days will change it.

“It’s something that I think has been well documented – 200-odd games without a finals appearance – so it’s felt like my career has sort of built to this moment and I can’t wait to run out there on Adelaide Oval in front of the faithful and hopefully get the job done.”

One of the more experienced campaigners on the Port list, Rockliff isn’t used to seeking out advice about how to deal with games.

The 30-year-old has not sought any out this time either, although one teammate had some for him.

“Darcy Byrne-Jones has had a little word to me. He’s played one (final) and he said it’s going to be hot early,” Rockliff joked.

“I think you’ve just got to go out there and do you thing and play your role for the team.

“That’s the most pleasing thing for the back half of the year, most of the year even, I think everyone’s played their role and I don’t think finals footy changes too much.

“There’s a bit more pressure on but it’s a good opportunity for us at Adelaide Oval.”

And while many players have made a reputation in finals, the former Brisbane skipper was more focussed on team success than increasing his profile.

He said he grew up a Richmond supporter and he used the example of forward Matthew Richardson, who did not enjoy much finals success in his career but is still highly regarded.

“You aspire to play finals footy, that’s why you play the game,” he said.

“At the start you just want to build your career and then you want to play finals.

“That’s where reputations are made so there was probably an element of is it ever going to happen… speaking to the young guys, you’ve got to grab an opportunity like this when it comes.

“We know the competition is so even and only eight teams play finals footy and ten miss out.

“We’re in a lucky position and we want to make the most of it.”

Standing in Port’s way on Thursday will be a red-hot Geelong outfit that demolished the Power when the sides last met six weeks ago.

Rockliff said lessons had been learned and things would be different.

“They were outstanding the way they took us on. They transferred the ball from our front half to their forward half really well so there’s no doubt we’ve got to tinker with a few things,” he explained.

“We’ve got to slow down their ball movement and we’ve got to go about it differently as well in that we maintain possession a bit more than what we did that night.

“We couldn’t find any marks coming out of back half that night and we know how good aerially they are.

“We feel like we’re in a much better position than what we were that time. We didn’t have our best night and they had an outstanding one and it was a credit to them.

“We’ve just got to go out there and play Port Adelaide footy, which has held up all season and there’s a reason why we’ve finished where we did.”

That night, Cats talisman Tom Hawkins booted six goals and was the dominant player on the ground, giving Port defender Tom Clurey a night he would rather forget.

Rockliff said it was up to the rest of the team to help the backline by limiting supply and controlling the ball better in possession.

“Cluz has had an outstanding couple of years and really prides himself on big performances on big opponents so there’s no doubt he was a little disappointed with how things went last time but the ball that Tom Hawkins was getting made his job a lot easier than what we made Cluz’s,” Rockliff explained.

“If you look at their last two bouts, Tom Clurey kept him markless and I think that’s the first time it’s been done in nearly Tomahawk’s career and then last time he was probably best on ground and marked everything that went inside 50 so I think there’s no doubt that the pressure from up the field, particularly the midfield, if they’re coming out the front with easy ball – Dangerfield, Selwood, Menegola, Guthrie, Duncan – they’ve got so many good players through there. Most forwards are going to get an opportunity so it’s important that we as a midfield group and as a forward group have pressure on the footy so that we can get some help in defence and don’t isolate that one-on-one.

“We know how good a season Tom Hawkins has had – All-Australian full forward and Coleman Medallist – so we’ve just got to limit the supply that he gets.”

As for his own form, Rockliff has bounced back from being dropped earlier in the season to be one of his side’s most reliable during its most recent five wins in a row.

The clever ball-winning bull said he is feeling as good as he has during his time at the club.

“The last couple of years I’ve limped to the line a little bit. I’ve had shoulder issues that have been well documented. I felt like I haven’t been at my best throughout the seasons but this year – I know I had a little spell on the sidelines through that middle part – but I feel like I’ve built a really consistent season.

“The last three or four weeks I feel like I’m building to hopefully a really strong finals campaign.”