Kangaroos fan favourite Ben Brown to debut for Melbourne in Hobart

Ben Brown hopes to break Kangaroo hearts when he debuts for Melbourne in Hobart on Sunday.

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BIG Ben Brown is champing at the bit to debut for Melbourne against his former side North Melbourne in Hobart on Sunday and bring what he has always delivered in the field _ a lot of “heart”.

The undefeated Dees called up the towering Tasmanian for their round seven game against a winless North Melbourne on a ground Brown knows like the back of his hand.

Debuting for his new team, against some of his best mates, in his home town, on a ground he knows well, is the perfect storm for the popular Tassie tall.

It all started with a call from Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin on Wednesday.

“I’m just really excited to be in the side. It’s almost feels like my first game again,” Brown said.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - Ben Brown of the Demons in action during the Melbourne Demons training session at Casey Fields 2021 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos)

“When ‘Goody’ gave me the call I was excited about getting to go back to Tassie and playing in front of a home crowd _ it’s awesome.

“I will try to bring to the team a few years of playing at the highest level, and a lot of effort and hopefully a lot of heart.

“The team is going really well so the main thing for me is to fit into the structure that has been working really well.”

North Melbourne has a strong record at Blundstone Arena and Brown will feel at home on the equal-longest ground in the AFL.

AFL. Melbourne v Richmond practise match at Casey Fields, Cranbourne. Ben Brown runs the drinks for Melbourne after recent knee surgery keeps him out of todays match . Pic: Michael Klein

“North will be trying to use the ground to their advantage, we always talked about that at North, and I’ll be trying to bring a bit of home-town intuition and pass a bit [of knowledge] onto the side as well.”

Brown’s knee surgery in the off-season was a resounding success.

“I’m feeling very confident. It is feeling as good as it possibly could at the moment,” he said.

“The physios and strength staff have done a power of work to get me to this point.

“I’m really excited. I’ve ticked all the boxes over the past few weeks in the VFL to show that I’m physically and mentally ready to go.

“It’s just a matter of doing my job for the side.”