Quite a lot has changed at Kardinia Park over the last two decades. 

Plenty of players have come and gone, the facilities are new and improved, the grandstands have grown and not to mention the towering lights that stand out as a beacon above the Geelong skyline. 

There is a stark contrast between the Geelong Football Club in the early 2000s and the present day that can not be denied. 

But no matter how much changes, there are certain moments and individuals that are forever etched into Cats folklore, you can almost feel their presence still lingering around the halls of GMHBA Stadium. 

For those who followed Geelong in the late 90s and early 2000s, there are not many names more recognisable than the great Rockin' Ronnie Burns. 

12:15

Rockin' Ronnie Kicks SIX In CRAZY Swans Shootout | Time Cat-Sule Round 22, 2000

Rockin' Ronnie Burns is our guest for this weeks episode of Time Cat-Sule! Look back at this thrilling shootout in 2000, spearheaded by Adam Goodes and Michael O'Loughlin, as a six goal haul from Ronnie helped sink the Swans!

Burns returned to GMHBA Stadium this week and sat down with Cats Media, discussing the differences he noticed but also how the Club still means so much to him personally. 

"There have obviously been a lot of changes and the facilities have changed," Burns said. 

"Walking in, even the membership and the Cats Shop has changed, they have a cafe now too.

"It is very rare that I get in here, but it is a bit overwhelming. It is great to come back and see the new footy club, it is great to stick my head in here.

"Just driving in here today, driving down Moorabool Street and coming into Kardinia Park, I still call it Kardinia Park. The netball courts are there, that is the first thing you see and there are a lot of memories when you come in here.

"The facilities have changed and it is great to see the football club evolve, it has moved forward but you can still reflect a bit."

Ronnie Burns joined the Geelong Football Club at the end of 1995, and it did not take long for Cats fans and the wider football community to realise the talent he had at his disposal. 

As quick as a flash with lightning fast reflexes, the crafty small forward made a habit of wowing crowds and in his inaugural season, featured in a forward line that included the likes of Gary Ablett Senior, Barry Stoneham and Billy Brownless. 

Walking in the doors at Kardinia Park to commence his AFL career, Burns said that he could not quite believe the calibre of player that he was able to learn from during his debut year in 1996. 

"At the end of '95 I got drafted. They come off a Grand Final loss but there were some great names like Gary Ablett Senior, Barry Stoneham, Billy Brownless, the late great Paul Couch, Tim McGrath, the names just go on and on," Burns said. 

I used to watch these guys on TV up in Darwin and even in Perth, but to walk in here and see those guys, it gave me goosebumps.

"To get to play with them, it was awesome. My first year I was straight into the system, I think I had one practice match at Ballarat and then I broke into a side that I thought I probably wouldn't break into.

"I thought I might be lucky to play a couple of games, but I ended up playing every game that year and had a good first year. But there were some great names out there and I formed some great friendships with them."

Rockin' Ronnie was so impressive during his first pre-season that he earned an AFL debut right away in the opening round of the 1996 season, slotting into a Geelong side that had featured in three of the last four Grand Finals. 

Playing 21 games across his first year, Burns was remarkably only held goalless on one occasion and finished with 31 goals, setting the stage for an impressive stint with the Cats over the following years. 

He would go on to be Geelong's leading goal-kicker in five consecutive seasons between 1997 and 2001, dazzling the Cats faithful with his amazing goal sense and the ability to split the big sticks from the most impossible of angles. 

That roar from the Geelong crowd was something that Burns admitted he thrived on, utilising the energy around Kardinia Park to inspire some of his greatest performances in the blue and white Hoops. 

"Whenever you play a home game at Kardinia Park, any home game with the crowd here, the Cats supporters are wonderful. They love their footy, they love their football club," Burns said. 

I was one of those players that was probably a little bit enigmatic, I didn't know sometimes what I was doing. If it came off it looked really great and if it didn't, it looked terrible.

"That was part of my job, I was there to kick goals and I didn't mind the banana goals and that sort of stuff.

"The crowd enjoyed it, I loved playing up to the crowd because it just revved me up and got me more involved. I am an emotional guy, if I got the crowd involved then I would just keep going with it because it was an adrenaline rush for me.

"It was more about entertaining the crowd, win or lose and I just liked to be a bit of a showman sometimes. It was great, the crowd were just phenomenal, they have always been a great support for the club."

One of those career-best performances came in the final round of the 2000 home and away season, when Sydney visited Kardinia Park and both teams were battling for a place in the top eight. 

In a high-scoring affair, Burns set the stadium alight as he kicked a career-high six goals, helping to lead the Cats to a famous victory and securing their spot in September. 

Ahead of Geelong's blockbuster clash with the Swans on Saturday afternoon, Burns reflected back to the classic match between the two sides and his incredible display, reminiscing on what made Sydney such a formidable opponent. 

"Those names that you mention [Michael O'Loughlin, Jude Bolton, Adam Goodes], they are great names," Burns said. 

"They have gone on to be great champions of the game. They had a great side the Sydney Swans, they had that core group and ended up winning a couple of premierships out of that.

"That day down here at Kardinia Park, it was Round 22 and our season had gone up and down a bit.

"It was a good day, I think I started on the wing and was just told to run up and down and do my thing. I ended up kicking a lazy six on that day, I can't remember who was playing on me but I think there was three or four players that rotated onto me.

"It was just one of those games where I had the ball on a string, things were happening for me."

2000 Round 22 – Geelong v Sydney

GEELONG    5.6    11.8   16.13   18.16   (124)
SYDNEY       5.3    11.5    15.9   18.12   (120)

GOALS: Burns 6, Graham, Hocking, Mensch 2, Clarke, Kilpatrick, Milburn, Riccardi, Snell, Wojcinski 1

DISPOSALS: Graham 27, Clarke 26, Hocking 23, Snell 21, Mensch 19, Milburn, Burns 16

BROWNLOW VOTES: Greg Stafford (3), Ben Graham (2), David Clarke (1)

CROWD: 26,011 @ GMHBA Stadium

GEELONG STARTING 22
1. Steven King
4. Jason Snell
6. David Spriggs
7. Ben Graham
8. Ronnie Burns
9. Clint Bizzell
12. Brad Sholl
13. Glenn Kilpatrick
14. David Clarke
15. Peter Riccardi
17. Tim McGrath
20. Carl Steinfort
21. Cameron Mooney
27. Brenton Sanderson
30. Matthew Scarlett
31. David Mensch
32. Garry Hocking
35. Paul Chapman
37. Tom Harley
39. Darren Milburn
40. David Wojcinski
46. Marcus Baldwin