BRISBANE Lions captain Jonathan Brown’s popularity and standing in the game is big. Just how big? When The Standard made a request to interview the South Warrnambool export, the Lions media department said it had received a list as long as one of Brown’s towering drop punts from outside 50 metres for one-on-one chats in the lead-up to his 200th-game against the Crows at the Gabba on Sunday. Such was the demand for interviews, the Lions gave Brown the list and asked him to narrow it to 10. Brown won’t be without local support tomorrow night with family and close friends jetting north for corporate box VIP treatment. Brown’s career, three premierships, a Coleman medal, Victoria captaincy and 200 inspirational games, would arguably give him the mantle of the southwest’s most influential and successful footballer.

SEAHAWKS basketballer Nathan Sobey has more than one reason to hope his team can end the semi-final series tomorrow night in Melbourne with a clean sweep instead of a cutthroat third and final match on Sunday. The versatile Sobey, who played three games with Russells Creek in the first half of the season, admitted this week he was keen to get his basketball commitments out of the way on Saturday night so he could scoot home to support his mates in Sunday’s elimination final against Old Collegians at Reid Oval.

THE mistaken identity defence is usually a last resort for the desperate advocate at tribunal hearings and quickly seen as transparent by those sitting in judgement. That is until the reported player has an identical twin running around on the field. Warrnambool came up trumps on Tuesday when Nick Chirnside saved his twin brother Angus from an abusive language charge by confessing he was the offending player. It revived memories of the sensational 1962 VFL case involving Alistair and Stewart Lord. Alistair was reported for striking Richmond’s Basil Moloney but both brothers gave evidence that it was Stewart involved in the incident. Alistair was cleared and went on to win the Brownlow Medal. To those who may take a cynical view of the “twin defence”, we would like to offer a visual challenge by publishing pictures of Angus and Nick to see if you can tell them apart. Click here to see if you can tell them apart.