Andrew Browne is the first to admit that playing football wasn’t on his agenda when he moved to Geelong over the summer.
The former Richmond ruckman accepted an invitation from former housemate and Ammos co-coach Sam Lloyd to come down to training, taking it as an opportunity to get to know some people in a new town.
However, that invitation to train has turned into something more, with the 35-year-old featuring in the season’s opening four rounds.
“It’s such a good way to meet a whole new group of good guys, in particular at a club like Ammos, where they’re well entrenched in the region, and I live pretty close by,” Browne told K rock’s Beyond the Boundary podcast.
“‘So, it sort of was a good fit to be able to meet a bunch of blokes in and around the area.
“That was sort of the prime motivator.
“I enjoy playing, but it’s certainly got a bit harder since I’ve got older.
“But I still do enjoy being around the boys. It’s always a bit of a laugh, and it’s a pretty good way to keep active.”
Browne, who played 12 games for the Tigers and spent last year with Mornington Peninsula club Tyabb, has made an immediate impression and looms as a key if the Pegs are to go one better than last year’s grand final appearance.
With Hamish Shepheard limited to two appearances in the opening month of the season, Browne has carried much of the ruckload.
According to Premier Data, Browne is ranked fifth for hitouts, averaging 34 per game. Almost a third of those hitouts (10.3) are to advantage, third only to Barwon Heads’ Luke Davis and Anglesea’s Ryan Bell.
“It’s very good footy,” Browne said. “I wouldn’t say I was surprised. I thought there’d be a lot of depth, and that certainly seems like it’s the case.
“There’s really no easy games. I keep looking at ‘Lloydy’ and ‘Kersh’ and thinking, ‘When am I going to get a bloody game off?’
“But the problem is that all these teams are just so competitive that rarely there’s an opportunity for a game off.
“I think that’s probably been the one thing I’ve noticed, that across the board, there really isn’t any easy beats, which is obviously great for the league.
“I think then, within each team, there’s obviously a lot of depth, which you probably don’t get in some of the lower leagues.
“I’ve played in a few different leagues now, and the top-end talent in most leagues is always pretty good.
“But what differentiates the leagues is just how their bottom few players sort of compare.
“I think in the better leagues those bottom few are certainly better players, and in some of the lesser leagues, that’s probably not so much the case.”
Amateur will chase its fourth win of the season when it faces Newcomb at Plastercom Oval on Saturday.
Browne admits that despite the 3-1 start, including a low-scoring seven-point win over Barwon Heads last week, that there’s plenty of improvement to come.
We’ve had a few players go in and out of the side, which has been tough,” he said.
“We’re sort of just craving that continuity, like all sides probably are.
“I think the promising thing or the pleasing thing is that we’ve probably had a couple of really good games where – even on Friday night – we thought we played pretty well, but perhaps the scoreboard didn’t necessarily indicate that.
“It was a good game, full credit to them, but I think we thought we probably played better than what a seven-point margin would suggest.
“It was a pretty low-scoring game, so to only kick 57 points or something like that, I think ideally we would like to kick more than that, and we certainly know our offence is capable of that.”
Ammos welcome back defender Spiro Alesios, the underrated Jordan Toll, and former St Joseph’s star James Hickey.
They replace key forward Charley Green, youngster John Thornton, and Brydon Barnett
Newcomb has lost co-captain Dion Johnstone to suspension after he accepted a two-match ban following an investigation into an incident in the Power’s practice match against GFNL club Geelong West.
His omission is offset by the return of Northern Territory gun Ollie Poulson.
Drysdale will have captain Mitch McGuire in action for the first time in 2026 when it hosts Surf Coast for the first time at Mortimer Oval.
The Hawks will also welcome back Lauchie Dalgleish and Jackson Payne, while under-18 graduate Harry Smith will make his debut.
They replace Mitchell Clark, Riley Peters, Chris Jreige, and Mitchell Caddy.
Torquay will have access to Travis Boak for its meeting with Ocean Grove at McCartney Oval, which doubles as Dom Gleeson’s 200th game as coach of the club.
The star Tiger missed last week’s win over Anglesea due to his off-field commitments with AFL club Carlton.
However, with the Blues playing Saturday night in Melbourne, he’s been given the green light to play his third game for Torquay.
Modewarre has lost former Western Bulldog Roarke Smith to injury for its clash with Portarlington at Community Bank Oval.
The star Warrior is understood to have undergone surgery on a finger injury in the loss to Newcomb prior to last week’s bye.
However, Cal Farrell will play his first game of the season, and Magnus Howells returns the defeat by the Power.
The Demons have been forced into one change to the team that defeated Drysdale for the first time since 2018.
Former captain Will Foott (groin) has been replaced by Kalan Dart.
Barwon Heads has access to Geelong Falcon Lachie Blacket for its meeting with the unbeaten Queenscliff at Howard Harmer Oval.
He replaces the unlucky Michael Philp.
The Coutas have lost Leopold premiership defender Trent Thompson (hamstring awareness), Max Scott (hamstring) and Lachie McKane (arm).
Vice-captain Harry Gower will play his first game of the season, with Marshall Rippon returning from suspension, and key forward Jayden McHenry also back.
Reigning premier Anglesea has the bye.
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