South Adelaide product Keegan Brooksby ponders his career after second delisting
Keegan Brooksby has been delisted twice after “doing everything right”, so what would be his reaction if another AFL club knocked on his door?
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Keegan Brooksby asks himself the question, what if another opportunity to be drafted into the AFL happens and a club comes knocking on his door?
The hard bit is thinking it is never going to, is his answer. As an experienced ruckman, he believes there could be possibilities, however, and his AFL dreams are still alive.
Saying yes to another AFL contract is no sure thing though, and the South Adelaide product admits he would be confronted with a difficult decision.
“You look around the competition and everyone has their bases covered,” Brooksby said. “But it takes only one, two injuries and clubs can be scraping the barrel and have no one.
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“I’m probably in a position where ‘we know what we are going to get and it is consistent and reliable’. I don’t know what will happen, but I could end up in that position again and it would be a difficult decision.
“At this time in my life I’d be wanting to take the opportunity, obviously, but there would need to be a pathway into a job not effected by football. In six months time, they say ‘come and play AFL for three months and we will get rid of you again’, that is not going to be worth it.
“If the opportunity came along and there was a career pathway in football, maybe coaching, management, then I’d definitely jump at it.”
Two days into a Bali vacation with partner and former Adelaide footballer Abbey Holmes, Brooksby’s month-long impatient wait on his future ended when he received a call from West Coast football general manager Craig Vozzo to inform him he had been delisted.
It was the second time in three years he had had the AFL rug pulled from under him, having been dealt the same blow by Gold Coast in 2017 following 14 games with the Suns.
This time felt a little different for Brooksby. Gold Coast was going through a “refresh”, whereas the Eagles were coming off a premiership and changing their needs a little in terms of list demographic.
There was one glaring similarity.
“It’s not ideal to be delisted once, let alone twice, especially when you think, and you have been told, you have done everything right and performed well,” Brooksby said.
“Twice in three years and in two different states is challenging and you don’t have the financial support of getting paid a significant wage. That is the nature of footy, you have to take that risk to have a crack. But it certainly is hard.”
Brooksby had been picked up by the Eagles in the newly established pre-season supplementary draft. The Panthers also lost key position player Hayden McLean in the same draft, and their premierships hopes were further shattered when ruckman Michael Knoll was taken in the mid-season draft.
The controversial drafts get Brooksby’s support, claiming it is fantastic for the players. The mechanisms need to be right, though, he adds and there needs more work to protect state league clubs and players.
Those drafted mid-season should be offered at least an 18 month contract and not be discarded that same year, according to Brooksby. The state league clubs must also be compensated financially in his opinion as reward for producing players.
“As an 18-year old when you get that first opportunity, there are things you don’t consider,” Brooksby said. “The older you get, the reality of life clicks in.
“I’ve had to move from Adelaide to the Gold Coast, back to Adelaide for a year, over to Perth and then potentially somewhere else now.
“When you are not getting paid the big bucks, you are right down the bottom on the minimum, it does effect the next stage of your life as well. You don’t get some business experience, or teaching experience, or whatever it is where you can just walk into a job and say ‘I’ve done this for the past five years’.
“For the past five years I’ve been playing football and done bits and pieces which can help. Compare me to another 29-year old and they have much more experience in most places where you try and get a job.
“That is the harsh reality of it. The AFL clubs and players association are doing more, but there is still a space, especially with the mental well being. Finding the best possible way to have players exiting the system needs to continue to get better.”
Brooksby mentions getting into the trap of looking back and thinking ‘I wish that had happened’. He says he hasn’t allowed those thoughts to enter his mind.
Despite the set-backs, he reckons he has enjoyed his football ride and is proud of his achievements, having not taken up the sport until 18.
He regards his 2014 best and fairest win at the Panthers as special given the family links to the club – his father Phil played 278 games and uncle Graham also wore the Panthers jumper. There was the best and fairest win with the Suns’ NEAFL side, then the honour of captaincy of the Panthers.
“To get a second chance in the AFL, and with the reigning premiers as well, I would not have expected that,” he said. “To win the best and fairest in the WAFL this year was amazing.”
Just where Brooksby plays this season has yet to be determined. The one certainty is if he returns to South Australia he will wear the navy and white jumper of the Panthers.