Wallace looking forward with Brown
9:54:53 AM Wed 27 October, 2004
Tony Greenberg
richmondfc.com.au
Nathan Brown’s brilliant form up forward for the beaten Australian team against Ireland in the recent International Rules series in Ireland, added further weight to Richmond coach Terry Wallace’s opinion of where the star left-footer will be best suited in the Tigers’ line-up next season.
Brown won the Jim Stynes Medal as Australia’s best player throughout the two-Test series which the visitors lost 0-2. He scored 17 points in the Aussie’s opening Test drubbing and 21 points (out of the team’s total of 41) in last Sunday’s Dublin defeat.
According to reports, Brown was a cut above his teammates with his superb control of the round ball and goalscoring expertise.
“It was an outstanding contribution made with the Australian side in the International Rules series by Nathan, and I think what it also reflected is his ability as a forward, no matter whether it be International Rules or Australian Rules,” Wallace said.
“He’s just a quality All-Australian forward, who also has the ability to be a good player up the ground.
“We’ll still use him in a capacity further afield at times next year because his ability to hit targets and to service our key forwards is a real bonus.
“But we can’t lose sight of the fact that you need to kick scores to win games – and he’s just such a valuable commodity in that area.
“The other thing he’s got going for him is that he’s a two-sided player. He’s one of those strange creatures for a left-footer who can actually turn on to his right and do it just as well that way . . . he can turn players inside out.”
Wallace believes Brown, as a forward, will provide the Tigers with greater value and be much harder for opposition sides to keep in check.
“Towards the end of last season here he was getting tagged so heavily playing up the ground that I think he lost a little bit of effectiveness,” Wallace said.
“He hasn’t got a huge motor and up the ground he can’t get away from opponents as often. But if you play him forward, he’s super quick and super elusive.
“So, it’s a much more difficult job for a player to play on Nathan Brown as a defender than what it is as a tagger in the midfield.”
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