HERITIER Lumumba says he can’t wait to play against his former club, Collingwood, for the first time since he join Melbourne via last October’s trade period.

Lumumba, who played in Collingwood’s 2010 premiership and played 199 matches with the club from 2005-14, said it will be “really exciting” to take on his former teammates in Monday’s Queen’s Birthday clash at the MCG.

“I know the majority of players who will be partaking [in the Collingwood team]. I was involved in either winning a premiership or being a teammate and helping develop some of the players,” he told Dee TV.

“It’s going to be a great experience and I’m really looking forward to just being able to play and have fun.

“I know all of their strengths and all of their weaknesses, and I know pretty much what we’re going to see tactically, although I think Bucks (Nathan Buckley) has got a few tricks up his sleeve.

“Having said that, I’ve trained with my ex-teammates for over a decade – some of them – so it’s going to be a lot of fun. This time, once you cross the white line, it’s going to have a different edge to it and then we’ll really be able to go toe-to-toe, like we weren’t able to do at training.”

Lumumba acknowledged he had jotted in this match ever since he became a Demon.

“To be honest, I haven’t given it too much thought in regards to what the actual, physical game will look like, but it has been something that has been penciled in my calendar ever since the trade was made. I always knew Queen’s Birthday was the traditional clash that we (Melbourne) had,” he said.

“For me, this week has been about learning some of the lessons that we needed to learn from the past game [against Port Adelaide] and really focusing on the recovery, because we’ve had an extended break.

“I’m still in that phase at the moment, but I am really excited to be able to play back on the MCG and in front of a big crowd.”

Lumumba said he still keeps in contact with as many former teammates as possible.

“That drops away mid-season, because you run on different fixtures and the season can get pretty hectic, but we do share the same car park, so we do bump into each other quite frequently,” he said.

“There have been some players that I still speak with, past and present, that are connected to the Collingwood Football Club, so it still is quite a significant part of my life.”

As for any contact with any ex-Magpie mates in the lead-up to this round’s match, Lumumba said: “There has been a few texts from a few of the Collingwood boys, just wishing me the best, so it’s been really good.”