The first time Mark Geyer went up against his beloved Penrith jersey was in 1993, playing for the Balmain Tigers.<\/p>\n
Thirty-three years later, his son Mavrik is set to follow suit.<\/p>\n
Mark\u2019s lone year at the Tigers ended in the club finish second-last, making his match against the Panthers a dead rubber to cap off the season. <\/p>\n
Mavrik, on the other hand, has the chance to slay the modern-day NRL dynasty he was once a part of – and push the Tigers closer to ending a 15-year finals drought. <\/a><\/p>\n It is also an opportunity to get personal. <\/p>\n Mavrik made his debut for the Panthers two years ago, and never thought he\u2019d leave. <\/p>\n Asked whether this game had more meaning for him, he said: \u201cYeah, 100 per cent.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just one of those things where I\u2019ve learned so much of these boys for four years, watching them win premierships, and seeing how successful they are. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just another opportunity in my footy career to play in a pretty cool game against some of my good mates and some people that I look as some role models.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just another game to prepare well. <\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019ll definitely be a bit of nerves to it, which is expected. <\/a><\/p>\n \u201cBut I\u2019m just pumped.\u201d<\/p>\n Since joining the Tigers in the summer, Mavrik suffered an injury-riddled pre-season and has only played one game, coming off the bench against Melbourne in Rd 10.<\/p>\n He\u2019s had to patiently wait for another shot. <\/p>\n \u201cBags just said, \u2018You\u2019ve been waiting for an opportunity. Here it is.\u2019 So, I just got to grab it with two hands and go after it,\u201d Mavrik said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe boys started the year off so well, so you can\u2019t really be kicking stones playing (NSW) Cup when the boys were going so well.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just one of those things where everyone who was in my position was playing better than me at the moment, and that\u2019s just a fact.\u201d<\/p>\n Mavrik\u2019s inclusion into the squad this week couldn\u2019t have come at a better time, as he has played the majority of his NRL career outside current Tigers five-eighth Jarome Luai.<\/p>\n Along with Sunia Turuva and Api Koroisau, there are four ex-Panthers in the line-up. <\/p>\n \u201cWhen I debuted, Jarome was my left half. Pretty much every NRL game I\u2019ve played for Penrith, you know, he was beside me,\u201d Mavrik said.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s one of my brothers and someone that I look up to. He\u2019s also the skipper, him and Api, so it\u2019s just a pleasure to play alongside him, to be honest.\u201d<\/p>\n Mavrik\u2019s future has been under a constant spotlight since before a ball was kicked this year.<\/a><\/p>\n There was heavy speculation that the bullocking second-rower was set to further follow in his dad\u2019s footsteps and also play in Perth. <\/p>\n Mavrik is off-contract at the end of this season. <\/p>\n \u201cI haven\u2019t actually made a decision yet,\u201d Mavrik said of his future. <\/p>\n \u201cWherever I end up next year, that\u2019ll take care of itself, you know. <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m just so focused on this year with the Tigers, and I think we\u2019re going to be doing great things at the back end of the year.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a couple of injuries at the moment, but, you know, Bags trusts us all to be able to do this job, and it\u2019s a next-man-up mentality at the moment. <\/p>\n \u201cBut, yeah, focusing on this year, and next year will take care of itself.\u201d<\/p>\n