Author: Jennifer Witham, Exclusive to afl.com.au
Collingwood defender Nathan Brown's strong showing against some of the league's most dangerous forwards this year has been recognised, with the young gun winning the round 10 nomination for the NAB AFL Rising Star.
Brown, 19, played against West Coast Eagle Josh Kennedy in the Magpies' 100-point win on Saturday at the MCG, and picked up 13 possessions and laid three tackles.
The young defender said he was happy with his solid performance, which comes after a spate of tough assignments against powerful forwards such as Jonathan Brown, Matthew Pavlich, Lance 'Buddy' Franklin, Matthew Lloyd, Brendan Fevola and Matthew Richardson.
"I try to pride myself on being consistent, and I think it was just another consistent, good game," Brown told afl.com.au.
"I was pretty happy with it, but I was also just happy with a 100-point win more than anything."
Saturday's landslide win over West Coast meant a little extra to Brown than it did to others, as his twin brother Mitchell is a member of the Perth club's list.
The 'other' Brown is currently sidelined after undergoing a knee reconstruction in the pre-season, but that didn't stop the Eagle from refusing to share tips with his twin on how to handle Kennedy on the weekend.
"Funnily enough, he didn't give me ideas," Collingwood's Brown laughed.
"We don't really talk much about footy, it's more catching up on day-to-day things, more 'How're you going', stuff.
"I tried to badger him and get stuff out of him, but I couldn't.
"I call him after every game and we have a chat, but this time he wasn't that happy to talk."
Brown played elite basketball as a junior before being recruited by the Magpies with selection No.10 overall in the 2006 NAB AFL Draft.
He spent last year playing for Williamstown as his body developed, but now as a 195cm/97kg defender, he's getting a regular opportunity in the side.
The former North Ballarat Rebel has played every game this season, with the club's coaching staff often putting full confidence in his abilities and assigning him the toughest forward option.
But, Brown has crossed every hurdle so far and relishes the constant challenges that are thrown at him. He also believes the club's defensive structure is starting to jell as a whole, which has been reflected in the Pies' past three victories.
"I think we've finally just clicked and it's started to work," he said.
"It's taken us a couple of games to get us all together, and we're finally smashing out our game plan and being 100 per cent with pressure and with one percenters, and it's working at the moment.
"That's the focus – that it's more of a team thing than an individual thing.
"Our pressure and the simple things we're doing are taking a load off defence, I think.
"In all the games, the scoreline might not say so, but they've all been tough and the opponents have still been running hard even though they're behind on the scoreboard.
"They still want to kick goals, so sides have still been pretty tough to match up on every week, and that's the challenge for us."
Last Modified on 23/01/2009 17:05
