Brown wants to be Tiger captain
24 January 2005 Herald Sun
Rebecca Williams
A MORE mature attitude has Nathan Brown convinced he is ready to take on the Richmond captaincy.
The 26-year-old forward has revealed he will put his hand up to lead the Tigers in only his second year at Punt Rd.
Brown is one of four players who have been told they are in contention to replace Wayne Campbell, who stood down as captain at the end of last season.
Midfielder Kane Johnson, full-forward Matthew Richardson and 2004 best-and-fairest Joel Bowden are understood to be the other contenders.
Brown, whose TV role as a gay doctor on Footy Show spoof Bulger MD came under scrutiny by the club last year, said he had a lot to offer as captain.
"There's four of us who have been told that we're up for captaincy nomination," Brown said. "I'll definitely put my hand up.
"Two or three years ago, I wouldn't have thought that (I'd want to captain). But in the last two or three years, I guess I've matured and grown up a bit.
"At a club with so many young blokes now, I feel like I've got a lot to offer and a fairly good football brain.
"If that (captaincy) came my way, I'd grab it with two hands."
Despite the Tigers' woes last season, Brown is confident the new captain will be taking on the role in a stable environment.
Brown said new coach Terry Wallace, his former mentor at the Western Bulldogs, had already made a big impression.
"We've got a good relationship and it's just good to be reunited again," said Brown, who helped play a role in luring Wallace to the club.
"I can see after two years apart how good a coach he is, what he has to say and his ideas on football. I don't want to offend anyone else, but in my view he's easily the best coach I've played under.
"But he doesn't play any favourites. He's very hard on me as he always has been."
Like all at Punt Rd, Brown is desperate to make amends for a horror 2004, in which the Tigers finished last with just four wins.
"It was probably the worst season team-wise that I've ever had," Brown said.
"I finished on the bottom with the Bulldogs, but that was nothing compared to last year. We really hit rock-bottom.
"It's a very lonely place, football, when you're not winning and everyone wants to have a shot at you.
"Everyone was having a shot at us last year, and rightly so. We were terrible and we've got to try and gain respect back from the football world."
Brown is confident the Tigers can bounce back in 2005.
He said the injection of fresh blood, which included five of the top 20 draft picks, had already made a difference.
"We're not going to get ahead of ourselves and aim for anything ridiculous, but with a new coach and a new game style, it's been a fantastic summer to get our confidence back," Brown said.
"New guys really get the enthusiasm up around the club."
Brown said he felt fit and had added bulk this pre-season, but was aware "there are no heroes made in January".
He said he was prepared to take on whatever playing role Wallace required of him.
"I think under Terry it's going to be different," he said.
"It will probably go back to where I played at the Bulldogs. I'll probably spend 60 per cent of my time up forward and then releasing up the ground as Terry sees fit."
Despite the Dr Pink issue last year, Brown said he planned to continue his work in the media.
"Dr Pink has hit the skids now. I think he's in jail somewhere," he joked.
"But I'll continue to do my media work . . . there's got to be a balance there and you've got to be able to enjoy yourself outside of football, too."
http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/footy/common/story_page/0,8033,12030593%255E20322,00.html
