Callum and Tyler Brown put their sibling rivalry aside to unite in pursuit of success at Collingwood
Collingwood’s Brown brothers have a healthy dose of sibling rivalry but they hope when they join forces for the Magpies, it will help lead the club to success — something their father Gavin Brown experienced in the black and white.
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The competitive streak inherent in Collingwood’s Brown brothers — Callum and Tyler — is not solely reserved for the football field.
The tell‑tale signs are on show throughout the home they share with parents Gavin and Kerry, and sister Tarni in Melbourne’s north‑eastern suburbs.
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There are scuff marks on the wall near the table tennis table; there is the tennis court used more for countless “first to 100” basketball one-on-one showdowns; and, in more recent times, golf clubs that have marked the next wave in their sibling challenges.
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“There’s been a bit of damage over the years,” says a smiling Gavin, who is a Collingwood and Australian football Hall of Fame member.
“The walls have copped a bit of a hammering; we’ve had a number of broken windows … just the normal sort of stuff.
“They have had some pretty good duels. They were good battles when they were younger. It probably got close to fisticuffs at some stage.”
Thirty years on from the inspirational role their father played in Collingwood’s drought‑breaking 1990 Grand Final win, it seems fitting Brown’s sons are now making their mark in black and white.
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All the Browns possess an appetite for the contest — complete with a sense of loyalty and a passion for the Pies — as their dad had when he was carving out his considerable career a generation ago.
Even when we arrived at the Holden Centre, the pair were locked in an epic basketball shooting contest.
“I’m better than he is (at basketball),” an insistent Callum says.
“Don’t listen to ‘Cal’, that’s not right,” Tyler shoots back as quickly.
It’s little wonder the Magpies never put Callum and Tyler in the same group at competitive training sessions — it brings out the best in them.
“We’re never on the same team,” Callum says.
“We’ve done a bit of training on each other over the summer,” Tyler adds.
It doesn’t mean the brothers are not close. Quite the contrary, born only 19 months apart, they cannot wait until they start playing more footy together, and if you listen to Magpie insiders, that will happen sooner rather than later.
Callum, 22 in April, is coming off a breakout season — his third at the club — after playing 18 matches, including the Magpies’ two finals, in 2019.
His pressure and breakneck speed out of a contest suited his role as an industrious small forward and part‑time midfielder.
Tyler came within a heartbeat of making his AFL debut in 2019. A strong season in the VFL saw him listed as one of Collingwood’s emergencies on almost 10 occasions, as well as the carry-over player four times.
Having played his first season in the VFL as a defender, he relished the move to an inside mid last year, and is tipped to make his AFL debut early in 2020.
Asked if Tyler can play senior football this year, Callum says: “Bloody oath. I’m always going to have confidence in my brother.
“There is still a lot to play out, but I genuinely think he could play AFL footy this year. I can’t wait to play with him.”
The pair played a season of “tackers” at Doncaster (now Templestowe), but have only played the occasional game together in the VFL since.
In Callum’s sole game of VFL football last year, Tyler dragged down a spectacular mark, giving another hint of his undoubted promise.
“I am more of a crumbs‑type player, so I was getting towards the front of the pack when I saw Tyler go up and come down with it,” he says.
“It was pretty cool.”
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Tyler recalls: “I was sitting off the back and everyone sort of came across. I just thought I would jump at it and ended up taking it.”
The younger Brown played in last year’s pre-season series, with coach Nathan Buckley saying he showed traits that reminded him of Fremantle’s Nat Fyfe, and he is tipped to be one of the Magpies’ big improvers in 2020.
The siblings could not be more different in size — Tyler stands 188cm, while Callum is 10cm shorter — even if they are both listed as 77kg.
“He probably caught me pretty early (in height) when we were maybe 10 and 11,” Callum says. “I got back in front there for maybe a year or so when I was 14, but since then I have been behind.”
Tyler, like his father, whose ironic nickname was “Rowdy”, uses words more economically than Callum.
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Their father, who is now head of development at North Melbourne, says the boys had always been a bit different: “Callum is very talkative and a bit more outgoing and a bit more social … he will talk to anyone.
“Tyler is a little quieter and a little bit more guarded. He doesn’t say much.
“If I don’t get to see them play, I’ll always ask Callum how he has gone and he will give me a full rundown, blow‑by‑blow. With Tyler, whether his game was good, bad or indifferent, his answer is always the same, ‘Not bad’.”
Callum explains: “He (Tyler) is pretty quiet at the club and pretty loud at home, which is a bit like Dad. He can get quite chatty at home.”
Tyler adds with a smile: “Cal just talks a bit too much.”
What is unmistakeable is their love of Collingwood, even if their knowledge of their dad’s 254‑game career with Collingwood is based on a few YouTube clips.
But each is desperate to make their own mark on the game, independent of their father’s achievements.
It’s why Callum passed up Gavin’s No.26 when he was taken as a father‑son selection in the 2016 national draft.
He chose to wear No.17, while another son of a gun, Josh Daicos, took on Gavin’s No.26.
Having worn No.34 for the past two seasons, Tyler will wear Tyson Goldsack’s No.6 jumper this year.
“We’re proud of what Dad has done at the club, but we want to make our own path,” Callum says.
His favourite Magpie when he was growing up was Alan Didak, and in later years Jarryd Blair, with whom he had the chance to play. Tyler’s favourite player was cult hero Dale Thomas.
Their most cherished memories as young fans came in 2010 as they watched the Magpies break a 20‑year premiership drought.
They savoured the on‑field celebrations alongside their dad (who was a Collingwood assistant coach at the time) after some quick work from their mum.
“I was working on the day and was out there on the ground when it finished when all of a sudden the two boys came running out,” Gavin says.
“Apparently, Kerry hoodwinked a security guard and told them to run out.”
Tyler recalls: “Somehow Mum got us on, we just went up the race and ran out. I remember talking to Ben Johnson after the game, it was amazing.”
Callum adds: “It was crazy. ‘Dids’ was my favourite player, I also remember having ‘Blairy’s (Jarryd Blair’s) medal around my neck.”
Having tasted finals for the first time in 2019, Callum wants more.
“We are very bullish again,” he says of the club’s hopes this year.
“We’ve been close two years in a row now and we are hoping we can get back there again.
“There is heaps to play out, but the hunger is definitely there.”
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***Footy20 is available from February 29 while stocks last at participating newsagents and IGA and Woolworths stores in Victoria/Riverina. Cost is $4.95 plus purchase price of that day’s Herald Sun.
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Originally published as Callum and Tyler Brown put their sibling rivalry aside to unite in pursuit of success at Collingwood