THEY grew up scrapping it out in the back garden but tomorrow evening the Collins brothers will face each other for the first time in front of 900 supporters at Rodney Parade, with Lewis confident of being backed by his parents in amber.
Newport County AFC’s 20-year-old forward will be hoping to get one over Forest Green Rovers’ Aaron, 23, in the first leg of the League Two play-off semi-final (kick-off 8.15pm) before repeating the trick at the New Lawn on Sunday (kick-off 6.30pm).
Aaron came through the ranks with the Exiles before earning a move to Wolves and then heading for Gloucestershire, after a brief return to Newport on loan in 2018.
The forward scored a double at Oldham to ensure Rovers didn’t slip out of the play-off spots on last day.
Lewis has enjoyed a superb run-in to help County secure a play-off spot, setting the tone with his hustling of defenders and scoring his first senior goal against Scunthorpe.
The Wales Under-21s internationals exploits have ensured he will be going up against Aaron rather than watching on from the bench or the stands.
“I messaged my mum straight after the game against Southend [on last day] and asked her if she was shaking over the thought of it,” said Lewis.
“It’s brilliant because I’m excited to play Aaron and he’s excited to play me, so we’ve spoken about it but it’s just another game.
“That’s the only way that we can look at it. Hopefully we will both be playing because the last two times our sides have met, we haven’t actually played against each other.
“I’m in the squad at the moment and he has been for most of the season, so hopefully this is the first time that we play against each other.”
The fixture has put parents Rod and Claire in an awkward position, although they are members Newport County AFC Supporters’ Trust.
“They’ll both be supporting Newport, but they’re proud that both of their sons have made it into the play-offs,” said Lewis.
“They care about both of us doing as well as we can, so I think it’s a win-win for them in the way that they look at it - they know that they’ll be going to Wembley with one of their boys. I just hope that it’s with me!
“I think they would have been a lot worse if we were both meeting in the final because they would have been in a mess. I think everyone is just looking forward to the game now.”
Lewis will be relieved that he’ll be at the other end to Aaron to avoid any distractions; there is a job to do with a spot in League One at stake.
County and Rovers finished level on points and with the same record of 20 wins, 13 draws and 13 losses.
They drew in Gloucestershire in December before Forest Green won on an extremely boggy Parade pitch in February.
“It’s going to be a hard game but we knew, no matter who we drew in the play-offs, it would be a big occasion for all of us.
“Forest Green are a great team and they proved that both times we played them earlier in the season.
“We’ll be preparing for the game like we would for any other, so we’ll look forward to the first leg and not worry about the second leg until that comes around.”
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