MAGPIE RADIO > Rnd7 The Squawk with Josh Fraser and Nathan BrownAPPRENTICESHIPS are usually tough and tiresome, but Collingwood defender Nathan Brown believes his directive to "learn on the job" has been more beneficial than an entire season spent at VFL level.
The 19-year-old from Ballarat has been thrown into the deep end this year, with coach Mick Malthouse assigning him some of the League's most potent forwards in his first six games.
But Brown has relished the challenge, with the past half a dozen hit-outs giving him the opportunity to learn from some of the competition's best.
"I've learned more in the last month and a half than I have in probably a full year of footy," Brown told collingwoodfc.com.au.
"It's a good challenge to get up for each week, and I've got a lot of reasons to thank Mick.
"When I do get the jobs, I lick my lips and I just love the challenge of trying to beat the highly-rated opponent."
The former basketballer has played on the likes of Matthew Pavlich, Matthew Richardson, Jonathan Brown and Matthew Lloyd this year, with Malthouse backing his young player to stand tall against such talent.
"They're all A-list players so they've all been hard, but probably Jonathan Brown has been the toughest. He was the most in-form player at that moment," Brown said..
"He's just so strong and very quick, and pretty much great at all aspects of the game. He was very tough to match up on."
A key defender's performance is always marked harshly by fans given how important the role of halting a premier forward is.
Brown, who is still getting used to playing in front of average Collingwood crowds of 50,000, said it can be difficult to escape jeers from the outer when his opponent gets away from him.
"I try and blank out the crowd, but you can't," he said.
"It's just human nature, and you might lose a bit of confidence if someone kicks a goal or takes a big mark, but you've just got to try and play every ball, every contest, on its merit.
"You've got to try and forget about the last moment and get on with it, because the calibre of these blokes means they can kick 10 on you."
Fellow defender Shane Wakelin praised his younger teammate for having a "great ability to learn" and a love of "hard work".
"If you have those attributes, you're going to succeed more often than not over a long period of time," Wakelin said.
But it's not just being a defender that Wakelin and Brown have in common.
"He's a really good lad and I've obviously been able to relate to him a fair bit with having an identical twin brother," Wakelin explained.
"We talk quite a bit in regards to our relationships with our brother and how that helps our footy, and how you can be there to support each other.
"He's been fantastic, and more importantly from my point of view, he's allowed me to free up on the second and third talls, which is handy as well."
Brown said he didn't expect to become such a key aspect of the Pies' defensive structure this year, but made sure he did everything he could in the pre-season to ensure he was ready anyway.
His determination seems to have paid off, with Malthouse "pretty happy" with his recent form.
There has also been an unlikely influence on the young Magpie's early development. While Brown admits to being "pretty close" to backline players Wakelin, Nick Maxwell, Harry O'Brien and former vice-captain James Clement, there's another player who's had a positive effect on him since his drafting in 2006.
"In a wider sense of the game, Shane O'Bree has had a bit of influence," he said.
"I see him as a wise man, and he talks to me a fair bit and offers a few pointers on how to approach the game and the different sorts of things the game can throw your way.
"We both played for the North Ballarat Rebels, not in the same team, but we have a connection there. We're also both country lads, so we get along well and like to have a bit of a joke.
"He's told me to back my skills and go into every game having huge confidence in my ability, and that you don't have to play out of your skin, just play your game.
"That's what will make you good and give you a long and successful career."
