A month into 1997, Tony Brown didn’t think the Saints were a chance to feature in September, let alone make it all the way to the big dance. In fact, Brown and a few others booked a ski lodge at Falls Creek for the second half of September. That’s where they thought they’d end up at that time of year, far away from the MCG.
But after losing four of the first five games, things changed. St Kilda won six of their next seven games to turn for home in the finals mix at 7-5. After losing two of the next three, the Saints won their next nine games to book a Grand Final berth in a season that Brown described as ‘special’.
“I think we lost the first three or four games and Aussie Jones, Joel Smith, Matty Lappin and myself all booked a lodge at Falls Creek for mid-September to go skiing, which we didn’t tell anyone. Obviously, we had to cancel that and lost the bond, which was a great thing,” Brown told saints.com.au on Wednesday ahead of the Crows 20-year premiership reunion.
“It was a year where the guys I lived with all probably had our best year for the footy club. We beat Essendon for the first time in about six years in front of 60 or 70,000 people, so that was just massive; we beat Sydney up there to finish their losing streak. It was just a special season all the way through.”
Despite racing to 100 games by the age of 23, Brown was the victim of wholesale changes. When Malcolm Blight picked up the pieces from the failed Tim Watson experiment, Brown finished his AFL career on 108 games and departed the game before his 24th birthday.
Brown, who was recruited with pick No. 7 in the 1994 National Draft in the same year as dashing wingman Austinn Jones, recalls Grand Final day as one of the biggest highlights and disappointments of his career, all rolled into one.
“Looking back on my career – I was lucky to have six years and 108 games – that day was one of the highlights but also one of the biggest disappointments as well,” he said.
“I think the whole week, including the Grand Final parade; we had a police escort for the bus from Moorabbin going through red lights all the way into the city to have the parade was just an amazing experience.
“Sitting in the back of a convertible car and seeing hundreds of thousands of people lining the streets is something I’ll never forget.
“I remember driving to the ground with Aussie and then the rest was a bit of a blur, but I do remember singing the national anthem arm in arm with the rest of my teammates. That was pretty special. It was an incredible experience the whole week.
“And then we were at the Carlton Crest after the game, pretty sombre. I remember Eric Bana coming and sitting on our table for a beer and thinking how cool it was he even knew who we were.”
After spending five seasons with the Port Adelaide Magpies in the SANFL, where he won the most prestigious individual prize in South Australian football, the Magarey Medal, Brown returned to his home state to pursue a teaching career.
Brown returned to St Kilda in 2012 as the club's player development and welfare manager where he has remained ever since, in a role that combines his education background with his real life experiences in the AFL system.
He is responsible for settling players into their new life, ensuring they are involved in something meaningful outside of the football and then helping them transition out the other side when they leave the system.
“I think having played the game at the highest level and my background in education gave me some skills to enable me to perform a player development role,” he said.
“I oversee players induction into the club, assist them at the other end when they get delisted or retire, and then whilst they’re with us develop them as people, so making sure they’re engaged in something meaningful away from football, whether that’s uni, short courses, work placements, doing charity work and assist with living arrangements, communicate with parents and partners about a range of things.
“I’m the first point of call for all the players and if I don’t have the expertise in a certain area I’ll lead them in the right direction.”
