AFTER an off-season of soul searching and hard work, former Derry underage footballer Callum Brown is aiming to unleash the best version of himself on the AFL in 2025.
The Limavady man has ridden a rollercoaster in recent months, ultimately ending in disappointment when Greater Western Sydney Giants exited the finals series after fourth quarter collapses against Sydney Swans and Brisbane Lions.
Brown started the season like an express train when he booted a career-best bag of five goals against 2023 premiers Collingwood in the opening round in March.
The 24-year-old subsequently established himself as one of the most exciting young talents in the game, but the feel-good factor ended in May when Brown was served a three-match suspension for an ugly bump on Sydney Swans defender Tom McCartin.
Brown returned from “the toughest period of my career” to find himself no longer a first choice in the Giants’ forward line and, after several below par performances, was dropped to the GWS reserves.
In the remaining seven rounds of the league campaign, Brown’s only taste of senior football was an inconsequential fourth-quarter cameo as a tactical substitute in the Giants’ last game away to the Western Bulldogs on August 25.
He completed his season exit interview with his GWS coaches overnight and admitted he has work to do if he is to regain his starting spot, as well as earn a new contract, in 2025.
“My exit meeting went well but there are things I need to improve on if I want to become the best small forward in the AFL and help the Giants to win the first premiership in our history.
“The Tom McCartin incident was definitely a setback and, after my suspension ended, I found it hard to get back to my best form.
“I was trying too hard, it was difficult to get back into the team after I was dropped when they were winning a lot of games without me. I experienced a lot of different emotions and didn’t maintain consistency in my performances - I found it hard to get back into my rhythm.
“I was so desperate to help the team and kick goals that I went away from things that worked well before, then I stressed, and things don’t go as well as I wanted them to go.
“I won’t let the same mistake happen next year.”
In 2018, Brown became the first Irish recruit in GWS history when he was signed as a category B rookie.
Brown found the athletic transition from Gaelic football to Australian rules relatively straight forward but, by his own admission, struggled to grasp the mindset required to succeed in the AFL.
He was incorrectly perceived as lacking hunger but a “serious kick up the backside” transformed his attitude.
Determined to stay at GWS and extend his 42-match AFL career, Brown admits another verbal boot up the bum from GWS coach Adam Kingsley has been justified.
“Adam told me that he’s happy with what I am capable of doing, but he wants me to train harder, get fitter and come back for pre-season training fitter than I have ever been.
“Even in Gaelic I was sometimes a bit of a lazy trainer so it’s up to me to set a strong training standard and show how much I really want it.
“My advice to myself is to realise that I can create something special for the club, and I can be the standout player the club can rely on.
“I am 24 and they say an AFL player doesn’t peak until he is 27, so the best is yet to come. But it’s up to me to make it happen.”
