Nathan Brown (Australian footballer, born 1978)

Nathan Gordon Brown (born 10 February 1978) is a radio and television football commentator and a former Australian rules footballer for Richmond and the Western Bulldogs in the AFL. He played a total of 219 senior AFL matches and kicked 349 goals.[2] His playing career ended after Richmond told him at the end of 2009 that he would no longer be required as a player.

For the Australian rules footballer who played for Melbourne, see Nathan Brown (Australian footballer, born 1976). For the Australian rules footballer who plays for St Kilda, see Nathan Brown (Australian footballer, born 1988).

Nathan Brown
Photographed in April 2009
Personal information
Full name Nathan Gregory Brown
Nickname(s) Browny, Noodles
Date of birth (1978-02-10) 10 February 1978
Place of birth Victoria
Original team(s) Bendigo Pioneers (TAC Cup)/Golden Square
Draft 10th overall, 1996
Western Bulldogs
Height 181 cm (5 ft 11 in)
Weight 80 kg (176 lb)
Position(s) Half forward flank
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1997–2003 Western Bulldogs 137 (206)
2004–2009 Richmond 082 (143)
Total 219 (349)[1]
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of round 22 2009.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Nathan Brown played tennis growing up, and is known for defeating former Australian tennis professional Peter Luczak 6-3 6-4 on grass, in a Warrnambool Under 16's grass tournament. Recruited from Golden Square and then the Bendigo Pioneers in the TAC Cup to the Western Bulldogs in the AFL, Brown made a name for himself as a dangerous medium-sized forward.

He played with the Bulldogs from 1997 to 2003, and left the club after a more lucrative contract was offered by Richmond. At the time the Western Bulldogs had asked many of their high profile players to take pay cuts to support the team financially.

Richmond playing career

Having been part of the Western Bulldogs side that took out the wooden spoon in 2003, Brown's first season at Richmond did not see any improvement, as the Tigers went on to finish last in 2004 after losing their final fourteen games of the season.[3]

In 2005, Brown continued to perform for the Tigers, partly due to his former coach at the Western Bulldogs, Terry Wallace taking over, and put in a string of match-winning performances in the early part of the season, including a sensational last-quarter burst against Collingwood in Round 8. In this game, Richmond turned a 10-point deficit into a 35-point victory, thanks to Brown's 5 last-quarter goals. The following week against Brisbane, Brown added 4 goals to be one of the match winners along with Shane Tuck. By this point, Richmond were firmly entrenched in the top four with a 7–2 win–loss record, and Brown had kicked 32 goals.

However, in Round 10 against Melbourne, Brown broke his leg attempting a left-foot kick as Melbourne defender Matthew Whelan dived across him in a legitimate attempt to smother the ball. Brown's right foot became stuck on the Telstra Dome surface and tilted a bit to the right. The injury even sickened media personality Robert Walls, who was watching the match on television, to the extent that he had to turn off his television.[4] Richmond lost the game by 57 points, and would only record three more wins thereafter to finish in 12th place on the ladder.

Brown had a titanium rod inserted into his tibia, and underwent extensive therapy and rehabilitation training over the following pre-season. Despite this, Brown would suffer further complications from his broken leg, among other injuries, eventually leading to his retirement at the end of the 2009 season.[5]

In 2007, with Richmond languishing at the bottom of the ladder, Brown did not play a match at senior level until Round 12, when Richmond defeated Melbourne by 49 points for its first win of the season, with Brown kicking three goals.[6]

Brown played his 200th game against Melbourne at Telstra Dome in Round 12, 2008.[7] Richmond won this match by 22 points.[8]

Retirement

In November 2009, Brown announced his retirement from the AFL. He stated that there was interest from other clubs to pick him up, although he believed a persistent groin injury would not stand up to another season of AFL football.[5]

Post AFL Career

In 2013, Brown made a one-off guest appearance for the North Launceston Football Club in the TSL.[9]

Statistics
[10]
Legend
  G  
 Goals
  K  
 Kicks
  D  
 Disposals 
  T  
 Tackles
  B  
 Behinds 
  H  
 Handballs 
  M  
 Marks
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game) Votes
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
1997 Western Bulldogs 17141011107351423470.70.87.62.510.12.40.53
1998 Western Bulldogs 171265120681883880.50.410.05.715.73.20.72
1999 Western Bulldogs 1722191422511033581170.90.610.25.015.23.70.87
2000 Western Bulldogs 17232613332210542128221.10.614.49.123.65.61.02
2001 Western Bulldogs 17223229318147465117301.51.314.56.721.15.31.47
2002 Western Bulldogs 17225724289110399123212.61.113.15.018.15.61.013
2003 Western Bulldogs 1722565124588333122292.52.311.14.015.15.51.35
2004 Richmond 720262834112646793401.31.417.16.323.44.72.08
2005 Richmond 71034191495320266103.41.914.95.320.26.61.07
2006 Richmond 710111793281215391.11.79.32.812.15.30.90
2007 Richmond 71121141314317470211.91.311.93.915.86.41.90
2008 Richmond 7183521249119368111311.91.213.86.620.46.21.73
2009 Richmond 71316111488423262241.20.811.46.517.84.81.80
Career 219 349 257 2747 1221 3968 1098 269 1.6 1.2 12.5 5.6 18.1 5.0 1.2 57

Media career

In 2010, Brown joined The Sunday Footy Show as a regular panellist.[11] Up until 2014, Brown worked for Triple M as an expert commentator for Saturday night matches alongside Barry Denner, Mark Howard and Ash Chua. He rejoined the station in 2016 as a Friday night commentator and calling one of the Saturday games.

In 2014, Brown joined rival radio station 3AW as a ball-by-ball commentator for Saturday night and Sunday twilight matches.[2]

In October 2014, Brown was appointed sport presenter on Weekend Today replacing Tim Gilbert.

Brown is a brand ambassador for Sportsbet,[12] appearing regularly in the media to cover AFL odds.

Personal life

Brown is married to Kristine Fabiyanic and they have three daughters and a son.

Achievements and honours

References
  1. "Richmond Football Club Playerlist". Richmond Football Club. Archived from the original on 24 August 2011. Retrieved 25 September 2008.
  2. "Nathan Brown Profile". 3AW. Fairfax Media. 2 March 2014. Archived from the original on 2 March 2014. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
  3. McClure, Geoff (10 July 2006). "Different club spoons — wood you believe it?". www.theage.com.au. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
  4. Walls, Robert (4 June 2005). "Brown Irreplaceable". The Age. Yellow and Black. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  5. Bradshaw, Finn (18 November 2009). "Nathan Brown confirms retirement". The Daily Telegraph (Sydney). Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  6. "Tigers find winning form in cellar battle". ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). 23 June 2007. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  7. "Brown 'proud' over 200th game". Australian Football League. 11 June 2008. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  8. "Richmond prevail in roller-coaster contest". ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). 15 June 2008. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  9. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 May 2017. Retrieved 13 September 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. Nathan Brown's player profile at AFL Tables
  11. "Nathan Brown Profile". Nine Wide World of Sports. ninemsn. 1 January 2010. Archived from the original on 2 March 2014. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
  12. "Nathan Brown".
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