BRAD Scott comes to the helm of the Kangaroos after a decade-long playing career with Hawthorn and the Brisbane Lions and three years in assistant coaching roles with Collingwood.

Scott’s perseverance was evident early in his career. While his twin brother, Chris, enjoyed success as an outstanding junior footballer and AFL Rising Star award winner, Brad was delisted by Hawthorn but redrafted as a 20-year-old after winning the Hawks' reserves best-and-fairest in 1996.

After a season at Hawthorn he was traded to the Brisbane Lions to join his brother and endured difficult years in 1999 and 2000 when he broke his forearm and underwent a double hernia operation.

Again, he fought back with dogged determination to secure his spot in the seniors and play in the Lions’ premiership-winning side of 2001 – a feat which he repeated in 2002.

Scott’s reputation as a fearless defender came to the fore when he was involved in a controversial brawl during the 2002 International Rules series in Ireland.

Injuries saw him miss the 2003 premiership and sidelined for the latter part of 2004. He was hampered by complaints for the next two seasons but held a regular spot in the team until his retirement at the end of 2006.

In 2007, he joined Collingwood as development coach before moving into an assistant coaching role the following season. In 2009 his role became more focused on midfield coaching duties.

Speculation has centred on Scott being a potential replacement for Terry Wallace at Richmond and Dean Laidley at North Melbourne, after both coaches stepped down during the 2009 season.