A year after a dog bite robbed Parramatta’s Matt Keating of the chance to take on brother Kris for the first time in an NRL match, the two are finally ready to face off in Friday’s clash between the Eels and Canterbury.
And in what will be a unique preparation for a big match, the brothers will get ready for the ANZ Stadium showdown while living under the same roof.
Kris suggested his brother could move from their shared home back into their parents’ house for the week but Matt dismissed the idea outright.
Now they will have dinner together on Thursday, and even breakfast on Friday morning before separating for the rest of the day ahead of the match.
“(The backyard footy matches were) pretty competitive. They always led to a bit of a scuffle so mum would come out and break us up and send us into our rooms,” Matt said.
“But we’re living together now which is going to be interesting Thursday night and Friday morning but I’ll do my thing and he’ll do his thing and turn up Friday night.
“We just bought a place together and I was in there first and he’s sort of moved in (when) mum kicked him out.
“He tried to mention early in the week for me to head home to mum and dad’s for the week so he can clear his head and I said ‘mate I was here first, you get out’.”
If all had gone to plan the two Parramatta juniors would’ve lined up against each other in round six last year – Kris’ first season at the Bulldogs.
But it was a dog of another variety, in this case the family pet, which blocked those plans, with Matt sidelined for six weeks with a compound fracture of the index finger on his right hand.
It is the only significant injury the young hooker, who will play his 100th NRL match on Friday, has suffered in his career.
Kris, the younger by two years, said there would be no special treatment despite his brother’s milestone game.
“Congratulations to him but we’ve got something to do this week and that’s win the game. We need to get on a roll now,” he said.
“It’ll be different running out and seeing him in front of me but that’s the way footy is.
“I’m sure our parents will be pretty nervous up in the stands but at the end of the game we’ll shake hands and move on.”
