> Watch the mid week press conference featruing Travis Cloke, Harry O'Brien, Leon Davis and Leigh BrownA LITTLE under a year ago, footballing life was looking pretty grim for Leigh Brown.
He had been delisted from his second club, North Melbourne, was 26 years old and had played 181 AFL games.
But now Brown is a member of the 200 club, with 21 games under his belt this season, and is about to play his second final this year after being taken with pick 73 in the 2008 NAB AFL Draft by Collingwood.
Brown readily agreed that last year could easily have been the end of his AFL road.
"Absolutely – when you get delisted from a club you think it's not going to come around," he said on Tuesday.
"Twelve months ago it probably wasn't looking that good, but it's been exciting this year
"I'm really happy with having come to a great club, and we've been playing some great footy.
"I'm really enjoying it."
Brown put in a creditable performance on key Saint Justin Koschitzke on the weekend, and is hoping to get Crow Kurt Tippett as an opponent on Saturday.
"I played on him a few weeks ago – big boy, very strong, fantastic player and in some good form, so I'd love to have an opportunity.
"It'd be a great challenge."
Brown said the team was satisfied with keeping the Saints to 12 goals, but that they needed to up their output considerably against the high-scoring Crows after kicking just seven of their own.
"We were pretty happy in terms of the score we kept them to, but we just weren't offensive enough; the whole team.
"We didn't get it inside the forward 50 enough to give our forwards an opportunity.
"We defended okay – still areas to improve, of course, but we just didn't give ourselves an opportunity.
"We need to get it inside the forward 50 a lot more this weekend."
Brown has been used as a second ruckman at times throughout the year, and said number-one ruckman Josh Fraser had pulled up well from the weekend's match.
"Frase has been fine; he's been running around the club since after the game.
"He's done all the recoveries everyone else has done, and he's been doing everything, so I can't see why he wouldn't be fine."
