Fraser Brown was 18 years and 226 days old when he made his debut for Carlton in the round one match against Footscray at Princes Park in 1989. Wearing the number 20 guernsey he became the 955th player to represent Carlton. Unfortunately his first game, Carlton’s 1809 game in the AFL, was not one to remember as Carlton were beaten by 59-points.
Recruited from Lilydale, Brown played in the Carlton Under 19s and reserves before making his debut and he went on to play 177 games, kicking 99 goals between 1989 and 2000. He played in 99 Carlton victories, 77 losses and the one draw during his career for a 56.2% winning ratio.
Brown won the Carlton Best & Fairest Award in 1998 and was a member of the all conquering 1995 Carlton Premiership side. He was a real crowd favourite as a result of the manner in which he attacked the football and was recognised as one of the hardest players at the football and in the contest. His nickname “Dog” was a compliment to the tough manner in which he approached the game.
Garrie Hutchinson profiled Fraser Brown in the 1998 Carlton Yearbook.
“He looks daggy, he’s got wild hair and angry eyes and he’s tough at the ball and we love him. And like every Carlton player, we want him in the team, fit and on the field. At times in the past couple of years it has seemed that Carlton might lose Brown to debilitating injury, but after a tentative start of 1998 – one game in the two’s, a couple off the bench – Brown played all of the round four game against Melbourne and showed signs of the tremendous and consistent flood of form that was so evident in the winning half of the season. The two facts are not unconnected. Not surprisingly, Carlton turned the corner when the engine room, led by the rejuvenated Fraser Brown, started providing those crucial 100-plus possessions every week.
Even when the team was struggling with consistency and fortune, Brown was important in preventing the team from being completely overrun. …He played 15 games in 1996 and just seven in 1997 because of the painful brake of aback-related hamstring injury. It is the sort of injury that leaves a bloke without a first gear, the drive in the legs. An injury-free and in-form Brown catches and crashes opponents, chases and speeds away from them, charges to the contest and gets that hard-to-get ball.
…Fraser ended the season with 18 Brownlow votes, a Best & Fairest Award that puts him in the ranks of genuine Carlton champions…”
On Thursday March 23rd, this final comment from Garrie Hutchinson will be formalised when Fraser Brown is officially inducted into the Carlton Hall of Fame and he will be recognised in the ranks of the genuine Carlton champions. He of course will join his great mate Brett Ratten who was inducted into the Carlton Hall of Fame in 1999. Ratten and Brown grew up in the same region and travelled to and from training with the Carlton Under 19s.
The Carlton Hall of Fame Dinner and Guernsey Presentation will be held at Crown Palladium on Thursday March 23rd in what promises to be a gala evening for Carlton supporters on the eve of the 2006 AFL season. Tickets for this very special event are now available through the Events Department at the Carlton Football Club, telephone (03) 9389 6296 or click here to download the booking form from the Carlton Website.
