Originally from Warracknabeal, the Gold Coast midfielder spent two years with the North Ballarat Rebels – now the Greater Western Victoria Rebels – in the TAC Cup before he was drafted to West Coast in 2004.

On Saturday the tables will turn when Rosa runs out with the Suns on a mission to defeat the Western Bulldogs on what the Dogs claim as their turf, Mars Stadium. 

Gold Coast arrived in Ballarat on Thursday, with the players spending Friday morning partaking in a training session on the ground.

Rosa was impressed by the redeveloped facilities.

“I spent two years with the Rebels, my first year travelling from Warracknabeal to play here on the weekends and then I moved to St Patrick’s College as a boarder in year 12,” he said. 

“It was a great footy club, even to see the change rooms now and how proud they are of the history and how many guys that have gone on to play AFL footy, it is a credit to the development system.”

While it was 17 degrees warmer on the Gold Coast than Ballarat on Friday, Rosa said the team was adapting to the change in weather. 

“It is a bit of a shock to the system, but we are looking forward to a great challenge,” he said. “We had a few changes this week, but there is a lot of enthusiasm around the group and the boys have been playing really well in the NEAFL that are coming in, so there are some great opportunities for some guys, particularly the two young boys in their first game.”

Charlie Ballard and Suns Academy product Brayden Crossley will be the first Gold Coast draftees to make their debuts this season as captains Tom Lynch (knee) and Steven May (finger) miss the game due to injuries. 

“What we are looking for from them is to bring that competitive nature that they’ve got naturally and bring the effort on game day and I’m sure they will go well,” Rosa said.

Gold Coast, which is on the hunt for its fourth win, has not defeated the Bulldogs since 2014.

“We need to be really sound defensively, they’ve been moving the ball quickly and efficiently so we need to be on our game,” Rosa said. 

The 31-year-old said the key to winning would be playing harder for longer.

“Really (we need to) just control what we can control and that’s our effort and the attitude we have for the full four quarters,” he said.

While Rosa admits he no longer has too many connections in Ballarat, a few of his former teammates are playing in the Ballarat Football League, while he remains in touch with St Patrick’s College and the people who made a “big impact” during his time there. 

He said most of his family was now living in Bendigo, but expected his loved ones and friends to travel down for the game on Saturday afternoon. 

“It will be good to see some familiar faces and hopefully we can get the win,” he said.