The QEO was Farrelly’s home ground with the now defunct Bendigo Gold and the pain of the club’s demise still resonates with the Echuca-raised  defender.

“I was pretty angry last year,’’ Farrelly said.

“I wasn’t happy with the way the Bendigo Gold was run out of town basically.

“It will be bitter-sweet on Saturday night because I’m excited to get back on the QEO and I have a lot of family and friends coming down to watch.”

The Gold’s demise has been Geelong’s gain, with Farrelly in the Cats’ best players in both of their matches this season.

“I played some local footy in Geelong with Modewarre a few years ago, so I still had some connections down there,’’ Farrelly said.

“When the Gold folded I thought Geelong would be the best place for me to go, so I met up with Geelong’s VFL officials and it all went from there.

“It’s worked out really well. I’m very happy with Geelong.”

The added bonus for Farrelly is playing in a winning team.

After playing in 36-straight losses with the Gold it was a relief to celebrate a win when the Cats defeated Werribee in round one.

“It’s been great to finally get a couple of wins on the board,’’ Farrelly said.

“A few of the Geelong boys knew that I’d had a lot of losses in a row, so they made a big thing about it.”

Farrelly was best on ground in round one, winning the Damian Drum Medal.

“I had a big pre-season with Geelong and that put me in some good form,’’ Farrelly said.

“I’ve started the season pretty well and, hopefully, I can continue that for the rest of the season.

“I’ve been on a back-flank. This year I haven’t been put in a position where I’ve been outsized.

“The last two years I had to play roles where I was the third tall and I had to play on blokes who were much bigger than me.

“This year I’m on players my own size and there’s plenty of support around me from Geelong’s AFL players and the VFL-listed guys as well. It’s given me a lot more confidence.”

The Geelong-Collingwood VFL clash at the QEO starts at 6pm on Saturday night.