Jonathan Brown’s time-trial, pre-season comp and State of Origin memories — and how they impact his KFC SuperCoach plans
What really happens at an AFL club over summer? Brisbane legend and former time-trial bookie Jonathan Brown reveals some untold tales and a warning for KFC SuperCoach players.
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If you were looking to jump on a pre-season bolter in my time at the Lions, you couldn’t go past Hayden Kluver.
Most fans wouldn’t know the name now, but in the summer of 2001 he was burning up the track.
We used to handicap starters in the annual 3km time-trial, with perennial champ Shaun Hart starting as the backmarker.
Kluver, who was on the Lions rookie list, took off like a rocket and by the time Harty was allowed to start running he was nearly two laps in front. But he spent all his petrol tickets in the first 800m then completely blew up — Harty won by more than a lap.
To add some more excitement to those early training sessions I acted as a bookie offering odds on time-trial results — thereafter known as the Hayden Kluver Cup. Another year I put up 66-1 on Chris Johnson, who was a brilliant footballer but not known for his endurance. I also set the handicaps and he started three minutes ahead of Harty. By the last lap he was closing fast but Johnno held on to win by about 40m. The roar from the boys that day was as loud as 100,000 at the MCG on Grand Final day.
Kluver spent two years at the club but didn’t play an AFL game, before going on to carve out a career in the SANFL and the WAFL.
Players take pride in their performance at every session but it’s a reminder that we shouldn’t read too much into pre-season track reports as fans and SuperCoach players.
PRE-SEASON MEMORIES
Pre-season matches are a big step-up from time-trials when it comes to reliable SuperCoach intel, and the fact clubs play just two full-scale games before Round 1 this year means line-ups will be much closer to full-strength than in the days when coaches could experiment over three or four warm-up games.
It is sad, though, that there is no prize at the end of the Marsh Community Series. The 2013 NAB Cup was the last piece of silverware awarded in March. As a member of the last NAB Cup premiership side, I remember that night well.
Coming off the wooden spoon the previous year, we defeated Carlton by 40 points in the final at what was then Etihad Stadium. We thought we were flying — after that night you would have had half of the Lions team in your SuperCoach side.
Two weeks later we returned to Melbourne for Round 1 and were absolutely pumped by the Western Bulldogs. After kicking five against the Blues Jordan Roughead made me look like a first-gamer — and the stats in my first AFL game don’t make for pretty reading (0 kicks, 0 marks, 0 handballs).
We went from SuperCoach studs to SuperCoach duds in the space of two weeks.
That final is a good trivia question — it is the last trophy won by the Lions — but it wasn’t much good for SuperCoach.
STATE OF ORIGIN
One game I will be giving serious attention to is tomorrow night’s State of Origin Bushfire Relief clash.
Terry Wallace said recently that the 2008 all-star game wasn’t played at great intensity, but I Plough and I have to disagree. I played in that match and it was breakneck speed the whole night — the ball hardly touched the ground. It was close to the end and no one wanted to lose.
This is a big event that will get the competitive juices flowing. They aren’t having a hit and giggle in front of 40,000 fans — this isn’t an EJ Whitten legends game.
Tomorrow night is a great chance to see some of the biggest stars in the game — and SuperCoach — in action, and one thing we can take out of it already is that if clubs have released their players it means they have high confidence in their fitness levels. That’s good news for Lachie Whitfield, who had ankle surgery after the Grand Final.
MY TEAM
I’m waiting to see more pre-season matches and club training sessions before making major changes to my SuperCoach squad.
One confirmed out is Lin Jong, who was shaping as my bolter before another injury setback. A player who could replace him at around the same price is Cam Rayner, who is set for a big season after shedding several kilos and training with the Lions midfield group over summer. I’m confident he has what it takes to be a star at the top level.
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