Brodie Kemp a top AFL draft prospect despite knee injury
Brodie Kemp is more prepared than any other draft prospect for the AFL rollercoaster after suffering a serious knee injury this year two weeks after living out his footy dream.
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Brodie Kemp was fearing the worst.
He had never suffered a serious knee injury before so he didn’t know exactly what an ACL felt like. But he was 99 per cent sure he had just done one.
And already his mind was racing to some dark places.
“When I first did it, you jump to the worst conclusion of, you’ve done your knee and now this is going to affect your draft chances,” he told the Herald Sun.
“Initially I probably accepted that I wasn’t going to get drafted.”
However, those doubts were quickly dispelled.
Kemp, who suffered the injury in July while playing school football for Geelong Grammar, had recruiters quickly reach out to him. His national draft dream was safe.
A big-bodied midfielder who can also swing forward or back, it’s easy to see why clubs weren’t scared off. Kemp’s pre-injury resume was impeccable.
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He produced a brilliant national championship for Vic Country, where he was rewarded with All-Australian honours. Champion Data rated him elite for intercept marks and intercept possessions and he averaged 102 ranking points per game.
However, his ultimate highlight came during a frantic finish against South Australia.
The teenager got the opportunity to live out every kid’s backyard football fantasy when he took a mark inside 50 on the final siren, with Country down by five points.
Despite being surrounded by chaos, Kemp was the calmest man on the ground as he launched a bomb through the big sticks.
“It was a super feeling,” he said.
“In the rooms afterwards, it was ecstatic. It was so good. Even the recovery, that’s usually the bad part when you get in the ice baths, but that was still pretty upbeat. All the boys were up and about.”
Top draft prospect Brodie Kemp experienced footy's highs and lows in the space of two weeks.
— AFL (@AFL) September 11, 2019
He talks us through kicking the winning goal in a game for Vic Country and his recovery from an ACL injury in this week's Road to the Draft podcast.
Listen: https://t.co/AMrAqc8z9S pic.twitter.com/R3moxIgK3o
His knee injury occurred just three weeks later, giving the teenager an early insight into just how crazy the ups and downs of AFL life can be.
However, as far as rehab goes, the young gun has had two of the best in the business to lean on for advice.
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Early in his recovery he was contacted by Carlton co-captain Sam Docherty and former Sydney Swan Alex Johnson, both of whom know a thing or two about ACL recoveries.
“To have that sort of care from those boys … for them to reach out I really appreciated that,” Kemp said.
Brodie Kemp
DOB: 1/5/2001
H: 192 W: 82
Position: Defender
Plays like: Marcus Bontempelli
U18 National Championships averages: 20 disposals, 64 per cent kicking efficiency, 6.5 marks, 4.8 intercept possessions, 102 SuperCoach points