Drafted to: St Kilda Football Club
Year/Pick: 2006, Pick 27
Career Games: 2
Career Goals: 0
Debut Game: Round 8, 2007 Vs. Hawthorn
Former DD Club: South Toowoomba Bombers
Brad Howard was looking forward to a weekend off - a rare treat for a footballer mid-season. His VFL side, the Casey Scorpions, had a bye so he was going to enjoy a chance to take a break from the daily rigors of his first season in the big time.
Instead, on Saturday night, 19 May, 2007, he had highlight of his football life.
Howard, the quietly-spoken 19-year-old from Toowoomba who 12 months earlier was playing with Centrals in the Darling Downs competition, made his AFL debut for St.Kilda against Hawthorn on the hallowed turf of the MCG in front of a crowd of 36,063.
It all happened in a frantic hurry and it wasn't until about 5.30pm on Saturday, less than two hours before the first bounce, that his selection was actually confirmed.
It was so rushed that his parents Peter and Cheryl were denied the customary trip to watch their son's debut, as is now common practice at AFL clubs. They were left stranded in Queensland, frustrated even more so by the fact that the Saints-Hawks game could not be seen live on any television network due to Channel 10's commitment to show the Kangaroos-Carlton game at Carrara as part of the AFL-driven push towards a second side in south-east Queensland.
But all that didn't worry Howard as he became Toowoomba's second AFL player behind pocket-sized rover Steve Kenna, a Brisbane rookie in 2000 and a five-game senior player at Carlton in 2004. He just went about his business.
Howard's elevation to the elite level had it's share of twists and turns.
When the side was named on Thursday night he was not included; not even among the emergencies. That was no great surprise, even though he'd been among the best for Casey in their 13-point VFL loss to Coburg at Coburg City Oval five days earlier. After all, he'd only played two senior games at Casey after three games in the Casey reserves due to a quota system that limits the number of St.Kilda-listed players that can play in any one game with club's VFL affiliate.
But when ruckman Matthew Clarke and Clinton Jones withdrew due to injury on Friday, Barry Brooks was recalled and Queenslander David Armitage was slotted into the side for his AFL debut. And Howard was elevated to the emergency list.
Unbeknown to the football public, there was more trouble in the camp and more opportunities on the horizon. Jason Gram (back) and Xavier Clarke (calf) had suffered further injuries at Friday morning training. On Saturday morning Howard received a phone call advising him that Gram had been ruled out and he was in the mix. It was to be him or 2005 draftee Justin Sweeney. Little did he know at the time that Clarke, too, had failed to come up, There was not one spot open but two.
Howard, his gear packed and ready to play, arrived at the MCG to learn via coach Ross Lyon that he was in. A couple of quick text messages to his family and to Velocity Sports to advise of the exciting news and he switched into game mode.
"In a way it was good because I didn't get a chance to let it play on my mind ... I didn't feel too nervous at all," he said on reflection.
A good thing? "I guess it depends on what sort of personality you are and what sort of person you are and you prepare mentally but it didn't worry me ... I felt pretty good."
Immediately prior to the team's entry to the MCG there was the customary pre-game ceremony where the first-gamers - Howard, Armitage and Sweeney - were presented with their jumpers in front of the entire playing group, coaching staff and club officials. Co-captain Luke Ball did the honors.
Howard, wearing the No.30 St.Kilda jumper made famous by Brownlow Medalist Brian Gleeson, started on the interchange bench but found himself in the game midway through the first quarter. He was playing as a small forward with instructions to push up the ground.
That he did and not long after getting the call he received a handall from Justin Koschitzke at half back and fired a neat 40m kick along the boundary line to Sweeney. It hit the target perfectly. His first kick in AFL footy. A football dream had become reality.
The game was played for the Blue Ribbon Cup and players from both sides wore checkered blue and white armbands as a mark of respect for Victorian police men and women who had lost their lives in the line of duty. St.Kilda players also wore black armbands in a tribute to Allan Hird, grandfather of Essendon champion James Hird, who had died during the week aged 88. Although Hird Snr was better known at Essendon, where he played 102 games from 1940-45 and went on to become Bombers president, he also was captain-coach at St.Kilda in 1946-47, playing 38 games.
Howard didn't lack for homegrown company in the St.Kilda side - there were a total of five Queenslanders in the 22. Nick Riewoldt shared the captaincy with Luke Ball, while also flying the Queensland flag were Brett Voss, Sam Gilbert and Armitage.
According to official stats, Howard played 39 minutes of 36% of the game, opposed at different times to Hawthorn's Stephen Gilham, Grant Birchall and Brent Guerra. He had two kicks, one mark, one handball and one tackle. Club statistics were much more detailed and more generous. His work without the ball and his tackling was strong.
"I was reasonably happy. It was a good experience, just to get the first game out of the way, and what I did I did effectively," he said, finding a teammate with each possession, tackling hard and pressuring the opposition.
Howard, described by St.Kilda's General Manager Football Ken Sheldon as "a beauty", had made his AFL debut debut on Australia's most famous sporting venue. It was somewhere he'd only ever been as a spectator, and had never set foot on the hallowed turf.
"We went out onto the ground for the warm-up and the first thing that really hit me was how big it was. Just looking up into the stands, it was incredible. It was good to be able to take it all in before we started," he said.
Other impressions? "I really noticed how much quicker the game was, even compared to the two NAB Cup pre-season games I'd played. It was another level and you had to sprint all the time," he said.
It wasn't exactly the prettiest game of AFL football. The halftime score was 2-6 to 2-4 as both sides push extra men back into defence and ultimately the Hawks kicked six goals to two in the final term to triumph 10-12 (72) to 6-8 (44).
Jarryd Roughead kicked three goals for the Hawks and Sam Mitchell had 35 possessions, while Leigh Fisher, playing loose in defence for St.Kilda, had 32 disposals and 18 mark. Robert Harvey had 25 possessions and Nick Riewoldt and Fraser Gehrig kicked two goals apiece in what many pundits described as one of the ugliest games in many years.
Not that the quality of the spectacle worried Howard. He was just pleased to be there and to achieve something which seemed altogether impossible when, in October 2005, having impressed for Queensland at the Australian U18 Championships, he declined to attend the State screening sessions which would have provided important statistical data for AFL recruiting scouts and may have led to an AFL career.
Effectively, he had turned his back on the AFL, and it was only after he represented Queensland at the 2006 Australian Country Championships that he decided to have another crack at it, playing the last six games of the 2006 AFLQ season with Redland, that he was claimed by the Saints in the 2006 AFL national draft. And the spark to a football fairytale was lit.
Last Modified on 06/08/2014 12:29