Former Collingwood premiership player Leigh Brown has returned to where it all started, Heyfield Football-Netball Club – but Brown won’t be donning that blue and white guernsey. Instead, he’s trading the footy for a clipboard and pen as Heyfield’s newly appointed 2023 senior football coach.
Growing up in Heyfield, he played junior and senior footy for the Kangaroos until the age of 17 before going to Gippsland Power, where he was drafted to Fremantle in 1999.
Brown ended up playing 246 games in the AFL across stints with Fremantle, North Melbourne and Collingdwood.
Taking the position as Heyfield’s senior football coach has always been on the cards for Brown.
“It’s something I’ve always wanted to do and give back to the footy club,” he said.
“The time is right, and in terms of the group, they need someone with experience; it’s a pretty young group, and with my background, I think I am pretty well placed to help develop some of the guys and help build a consistent footy team on the field going forward.”
When Kodie Woodland, Heyfield’s 2022 senior coach, stood down from the role, Brown played an active part finding a new coach for 2023.
“The more I went through the process, the more that it cemented in my mind that [filling the role of coach] was what I wanted to do,” Brown said.
After his retirement from professional football, Brown spent two years at Melbourne as the Demons’ assistant coach before returning to Gippsland.
Since being back in the region, Brown has spent five years as Gippsland Power coach and two years as the Victorian Country Under 18s coach.
“I think I am pretty well placed to have an impact on these young guys and build the club back up to playing finals footy sooner rather than later,” Brown said.
The last time Heyfield FNC’s senior football team won a North Gippsland Football-Netball League premiership was in 2012.
While a premiership is undoubtedly a goal for Brown as Heyfield’s new senior coach, building a strong and inclusive club community is at the forefront of the former Magpies’ mind.
“Anyone that plays or coaches any sport would like to have the ultimate success,” Brown said.
“For a community club, such as a football, cricket, netball club, building a place, an environment, that atmosphere and spirit where people want to come, enjoy, attend games, Thursday night dinners, is first and foremost; the rest will take care of itself from there.
“When you have the support of a town and the community behind any sporting club, it certainly drives it to be better, and Heyfield is no different.
“We have plenty of support within the club and outside, whether that be helping out, working bees, in the canteen, those sorts of things, and they are just as important roles as a coach or a player.”
Brown said he was excited to continue building the Heyfield FNC community, and was determined to ensure the Kangaroos’ overall success.
“We’ve been quite successful over a long period of time, we haven’t won a premiership for a little while, but we are a successful club that has been able to produce players that have gone on to play at the highest level at AFL level, which is something the club certainly hangs its hat on,” Brown said.
“I have fortunately been through that process, and the club certainly supports the growth of any of its young players.”
This year, Heyfield FNC’s reserves team finish third on the NGFNL ladder, their Under 18s made the Grand Final and their Under 13s and 15s football teams ended on top.
“I think anyone who comes to Heyfield or looks at Heyfield as a footy club would say we’re a tight-knit place, a community-based club that supports their own and strives to grow and thrive,” Brown said.
“Certainly with the youngsters, the player attention, which has happened for years and years now, it is definitely a place where young guys want to stay and play their footy.”
It is uncertain whether the Kangaroos’ senior team will be in fighting shape for the NGFNL 2023 premiership flag, having finished seventh on the 2022 ladder. However, with Brown as coach, adamant about directing a strong focus on the club’s junior players, it is warranted to expect big things from Heyfield FNC in the next few years.
