CHRISTIAN Petracca says he is excited to play his 50^th AFL match on such a historic occasion for the club.

After suffering an ACL injury in 2015, the No.2 pick has found continuity in recent seasons.

“It’s exciting [to reach the milestone] after doing my knee in my first year,” Petracca told Melbourne Media.

“It’s taken its time – nearly four years – so it’s been good.

“And if I didn’t do my finger, I would’ve played 50 consecutive [games] so it’s pretty cool where I’ve come from.”

While his milestone is one to celebrate, not all of his teammates are embracing the occasion.

“I asked to get chaired off after the game if we win, but Gawny said 50 games is nothing which was pretty funny,” Petracca said with a laugh.

The Queen’s Birthday game has always been a significant day for both clubs involved and Petracca is looking forward to getting out on the big stage.

“It’s an exciting game,” he said.

“The Queen’s Birthday game is an awesome day, not just for Collingwood and Melbourne, but the AFL world in general.

“What Neale (Daniher) has done for the foundation and the AFL is pretty special and it’s inspirational, so I’m very keen.”

Petracca said the team was privileged to be addressed by Daniher in the lead up to the match.

“Neale spoke to us on the Friday as well and his words were inspirational,” he said.

“Even just his presence in the room, you just feel a very exciting feeling and he’s actually really funny still so it’s awesome.

“It’s really good to see.”

After a nine-day break since Melbourne’s 49-point win over the Western Bulldogs, Petracca said he is ready to take to the MCG against the Pies.

“We’ve had time to reflect on the Western Bulldogs and time to relax and recover,” he said.

“We had two good main training sessions on the Tuesday and Friday so we’ve really recovered and are going well.”