ONE OF the Hampden league's most celebrated exports is just the third south-west footballer in history to be inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame.
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South Warrnambool product Jonathan Brown, who also spent time at Koroit as a junior, on Tuesday joined former Rooster Colin Watson and Cobden's John Rantall in the prestigious club.
Brown, who notched 256 AFL games and helped Brisbane Lions to three-straight premierships from 2001 to 2003, told The Standard the induction was an honour.
"It means a lot, it's pretty unbelievable," he told The Standard.
It means a lot, it's pretty unbelievable.
- Jonathan Brown
Brown said he had missed a call from AFL chairman Richard Goyder last week.
"He kept calling me and then texted asking me to call him. I was thinking 'what have I done, what I have said on air'," he said.
"It was a nice phone call to get.
"It feels like a culmination of not only a 15-year AFL career but as a boy kicking mud off grounds at Koroit and South Warrnambool. It makes you reflect (on everything).
"You idolise your old man (Brian) and just want to be like him and hopefully play one AFL game.
"Obviously to have the team success and have a 15-year career, it was something you could only dream of."
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He said when he was leaving home for commitments with Fox Footy, his wife Kylie gave him a cheeky farewell.
"She said 'this is the last pat on the back you will get'," Brown laughed.
He said being inducted on the same night as his triple Brisbane Lions premiership teammate Simon Black added to the occasion even though there was no ceremony due to coronavirus restrictions.
"Blacky was last year but he missed it because he was on (TV reality show) Survivor so going in together is pretty cool," he said.
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