Local footy: EDFL club Keilor signs ex-AFL player Andrew Browne for 2021
One of the best top-flight players in the history of the Essendon District Football League will be showcasing his ability in 2021 after re-joining a competition powerhouse.
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One of the most decorated players in Essendon District Football League history has returned to Keilor.
Reynolds medallist Andrew Browne has signed on with the reigning premier for 2021 after a stint as playing coach at his junior club Mansfield in the Goulburn Valley league.
The 30-year-old, who played 12 games for Richmond, will be looking to reclaim his mantle as the leading big man in Premier Division.
Browne is set to lock horns with big name Aberfeldie recruit Nick Meese, Greenvale gun Fabian Deluca and emerging Strathmore star Andrew Vavra next year in a mouth-watering prospect.
The Blues’ star midfield of captain Kane Barbuto, Todd Stevenson, Brett Stillman and ex-AFL pair Nick O’Kearney and Damien Cavka will also receive some silver service.
“He’s hugely respected as a person and footballer in our four walls but also I think respected in the competition with the way he goes about his footy,” Keilor coach Mick McGuane said.
“He only has eyes for the footy and he plays the game in the right manner.
“He’s confident in his own body. He says he’s healthy, feels good, feels fit, and he knows he has to get to a certain level to play at this standard and be the No.1 ruckman in our club but also have aspirations to be the No.1 in the competition because there’s some good players around.
“He’s aware that, like anybody, if they take the foot off the accelerator and don’t do the work, they come back to the pack irrespective of their previous history or reputation.”
The Blues completed an unblemished 20-0 campaign last year despite the absence of an experienced tall in middle of the ground.
With Brock McGregor sidelined due to a knee injury, Darren Walters – “a young fellow still learning his craft” according to McGuane – managed nine senior games, while Stevenson, Brad Xavier, Riley Ham, David Gourdis and Jay White were also called upon to play makeshift roles.
But Browne’s signature has given the club an elite performer, with the man who spent four years with the Tigers dominating the centre square during his first six-year stint with the club.
Capable of gliding across the ground like a midfielder and averaging almost a goal a game, he collected the EDFL’s highest individual honour in his first season with Keilor in 2013 and was runner-up the following year.
Browne is also a two-time best-and-fairest winner and grabbed the Reg Rose Medal for best on ground in the 2016 grand final.
He was picked in the Premier Division Team of the Year four times.
McGuane said Browne had a “burning desire” to take on the top job at Mansfield but pointed to travel as a likely reason for his decision to return.
“I can’t speak for him as to why he’s not doing it going forward,” he said.
“One can only assume it might be the commitment when you’re living in Melbourne, the drive to get out there during the week, coaching on weekends. It becomes quite a challenge to get right.
“The opportunity to come back into an environment he knows, he trusts … and based on the year we had last year, I suppose it’s always inviting to come back into an environment that’s just won a premiership.
“He’s motivated clearly to reconnect with the boys and finish his career with hopefully another premiership medal around his neck.”
Barbuto, O’Kearney, Gourdis, Stillman, Stevenson, David Isbister, Jamie Papallia, Jesse Wallin, Matthew Clark, Luke Cartelli and Paul Sahlberg have re-committed for 2021.
Premiership player Zak Wunhym has moved to Division 1 outfit Hillside.
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