Callum Brown, son of Collingwood champion Gavin, sets sights on being recruited in AFL draft

CALLUM Brown, son of Collingwood champion Gavin, has had his fair share of doubters, but that has only motivated him to make it to the elite level.

Eastern Ranges’ Callum Brown. Picture: Robert Prezioso/AFL Media

TOO small, one-dimensional, not tall enough, too light — Callum Brown’s heard it all before.

But the Collingwood father-son prospect has proved his doubters wrong.

Brown made Oakleigh’s under-15 squad but at around 168cm and 62kg was cut from the under-16 squad.

Disappointed but not deterred from his unwavering ambition to make it to the elite level, Brown went back to the Chargers in an attempt to make their under-18 list as a bottom-age player but didn’t even make the top 100.

“They told me at that time I wasn’t really tall enough, they didn’t really say anything about my ability not being good enough,” Brown said.

“It was all centred around height back then, I was pretty small, but I thought I could play.”

Living near the Springvale Rd border of Oakleigh Chargers and Eastern Ranges, Brown, the son of Collingwood 1990 premiership player and captain Gavin, just wanted another opportunity.

However, there were still question marks if he could cut it as his size.

But given his pedigree and glimpses of brilliance, Eastern Ranges talent manager Len Villani twisted the arms of those at the Ranges to give the kid a go on a TAC Cup list.

“Internally there was a fair bit of debate but I ended up convincing people he was worth investing in for 12 months to see how he goes,” Villani said.

“He was still very light on and physically immature but I thought there were some exciting attributes we’d be able to work towards or work with to try develop him into a TAC Cup footballer.”

Now 178cm and 72kg, the midfielder/forward is proving to be a late developer just like his father, who didn’t hit his physical peak until his early 20s.

Gavin said his son had not doubted his own ability.

“I don’t think he paid much attention to them (the doubters),” he said.

“For him, I don’t think he stopped to think, he was just in such a hurry to move on.

“He never said anything about it, I’m sure he was annoyed and I could see that he was disappointed but I think, to his credit, he moved on pretty quickly.”

The Bulleen Templestowe product put himself on AFL recruiters’ radar with a standout carnival for Vic Metro in the Under-18 National Championships, averaging 19 touches at 76 per cent efficiency.

Such has been his TAC Cup form this year, Villani said the 18-year-old had roared in his estimations from being a potential rookie or late draft pick 12 months ago to a late first-round or early second-round pick.

Villani said the best of Brown, who has based his game on Port Adelaide’s Robbie Gray and Fremantle’s Lachie Neale, was yet to come.

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“His hands in close and how clean he is below his knees, they are the elite of the elite and that is what you need to be at that size,” he said.

“He sees the game a lot better than what a lot of other boys do and he has used that to his advantage over the years.”

Brown said being cut as a 16-year-old had only motivated him, always being confident in his ability.

“When people told me I was too small, I used that disappointment as a source of energy to work even harder and do more than everyone else to prove them all wrong and get to where I wanted,” he said.

“I’ve always felt as though I have to prove a little bit more than everyone else and I really use that as motivation.”