BROWNY'S BRILLIANT BEST

2008, Grand Final, Geelong versus Hawthorn, MCG

Hawthorn 18.7 (115) defeated Geelong 11.23 (89)

I always felt that I was slightly misrepresented, or worse - perhaps even misunderstood throughout my AFL playing career with Geelong and Hawthorn.

And strangely enough when I talk to Campbell Brown - and albeit for completely different reasons - I can’t help but think that he must feel exactly the same way. 

A highly educated man - a bloody good bloke in fact - Campbell Brown may well be remembered historically within AFL circles for all the wrong reasons, and that would be an unfair indictment on him as a footballer yes, but more importantly an unfair indictment on Campbell Brown the person.

In the AFL and society in general, we see all kinds of people from all facets of life - it’s a non-negotiable part of the caper and you either tow the line and shape up, or you quickly fall out of line and ship out.

What I love, or perhaps admire the most about Campbell Brown is the fact that he would be a highly intelligent, exceptional student and well mannered young man from Scotch College in one breath, yet a ruthless, driven, highly focused win-at-all cost beast in the next, who would push the rules and the opposition to absolute extremes in his quest to deliver success for his club and his teammates that would never be disputed nor questioned.

That’s the Campbell Brown I remember, and whilst I don’t profess to know him well, I do know that despite the quick wit, carefree nature and self confessed flaws that each and everyone one of us have, Campbell Brown was an an elite AFL player, an inspirational teammate and as reliable a warrior as they come - and if they were playing AFL in the trenches of Gallipoli back in the First World War, Campbell Brown would be the first soldier on your life that you’d pick.

205 AFL games, 109 Goals, Hawthorn 2008 Premiership, 2007 All Australian, 3 times Australian representative, Victorian state selection, he may not possess the podium best and fairest finishes or feature prominently in the Brownlow Medal, but his importance to the Hawks in the infancy of the Alistair Clarkson regime in 2005 and rebuilding a wounded club into the juggernaut it soon again became is as definitive as it is underrated.

The beauty of TOTAL RECALL is not only the raw accounts we hear each and every week from undisputed AFL Champions past and present, it is also the fact that it caters to all the great aspects of our game and clearly demonstrates that great performances can be achieved in so many different ways and methods and in so many different positions.

So when it comes to Campbell Brown’s greatest ever individual game, it’s as curious yet unpredictable as it gets thus far, such was his versatility to play and excel in so many different positions. 

He stood up when it mattered in big finals, kicked clutch bags of goals multiple times, played some heroic defensive games on some of the competitions best forwards and stamped his authority and physicality in more ways than one in some very memorable games also.

So what game and perhaps more importantly why, would Campbell Brown “TOTALLY RECALL’ as the greatest he ever played?

“To be honest mate I reckon the best game of my career and certainly the most important structurally I ever played was in the 2008 Grand Final,” Brown says.

“I started forward on Tom Harley for the first quarter and a half and then when Croady (Trent Croad) went down injured I had to go to full back and play on Cam Mooney,” he adds.

If there is a sentence that better reflects Campbell Brown's adaptability and flexibility and at the same time so accurately portrays his entire career in just a few words, I am at a loss to find it. 

Playing on the biggest stage on Grand Final day against a champion Geelong team - on the Cats skipper and bloody tough defender Tom Harley, Brown’s impact in the first half was enormous. 

And then almost perfectly true to the Campbell Brown script, and seemingly destined not to disappoint, his ability to swing from attack to defence and demonstrate his absolute importance to Hawthorn when it mattered most, he would yet again play undersized as a defender on All-Australian Geelong superstar Cam Mooney and completely quell his influence for the Cats in the second half.

That was Campbell Brown - a tenacious defender, a brilliant competitor, a swing man of the highest calibre and a physical enforcer despite often conceding height and weight to his direct opponents.

His stats on the day would be telling - but even telling statistics don’t depict the true importance of Campbell Brown to the 2008 Hawthorn Premiership.

11 Kicks, 10 Marks, 5 Handballs, 1 Goal, 1 Tackle, 4 Contested Posessions, 2 Contested Marks.

“ I remember feeling a lot more nervous before the Grand Final obviously, but I still prepared exactly the same, and everything just seemed to come off,” Brown recounts.

“ I even shanked a kick forward in the first quarter that landed straight on Xavier Ellis's chest for a goal,” he adds

Honest words from a true champion on a memorable day for the Hawthorn Football Club. 

One of Brown’s teammates on the day was former Hawthorn midfielder Rick Ladson, who doesn’t hesitate in speaking glowingly of the Hawk hard man.

“Browny had an ability to make those around him walk taller, not so much by words but by his actions, he would do whatever it takes to help the team win or help a mate, he demanded ruthlessness at all times,” Ladson says.

“He’s a bloody tough nut with a heart of gold,” he smiles.

I couldn’t have said it any better myself Rick.

Thank you Browny, for “TOTALLY RECALLING’ the greatest game you ever played.

Aaron Lord