has turned to youth and the draft table to rebuild, Stanton has found himself as a young veteran among a new breed of Baby Bombers. He is no longer hesitant to speak his mind or lead the way at Essendon. “With all of the younger blokes coming in, you have to take on a role to help them through the exciting times and also the tough times,” Stanton said. “I’ve tried to pass my knowledge on, especially from the mistakes I’ve made.” Coincidentally or perhaps by design, Stanton has taken to mentoring 2008 draftees Michael Hurley and David Zaharakis, both also extremely talented footballers hailing from Melbourne’s north – Hurley from Macleod and Zaharakis from Eltham. Like Stanton, they both came through the Northern Knights in the TAC Cup and the AFL pathway program. “Matthew Lloyd has a muck around whenever we’re having lunch, saying it always seems like the northern suburbs boys are sticking together.” With Lloyd nearing the end of his career and captaincy tenure, Stanton would love to
FAC T F I L E
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Brent Stanton Born: May 1, 1986 Recruited from: Banyule/Northern U18 Debut: 2004 Height: 182cm Weight: 82kg Games: 110 Goals: 68 Honours: 3rd best and fairest 2005, 2008; International Rules Series 2006; NAB AFL Rising Star nominee 2004.
SINGING IN THE RAIN: Brent Stanton (middle) and his Essendon teammates celebrate their Anzac Day victory over Collingwood this year.
Like every other young guy, I’ve always dreamed of being captain or a leader at my footy club, so it’s an aspiration of mine. I’m more than happy to put my hand up if there comes a time BRENT STANTON
assume the much sought-after role when the time comes. “Like every other young guy, I’ve always dreamed of being captain or a leader at my footy club, so it is an aspiration of mine,” he said. “We do have a lot of good
leaders around the place, but I’m more than happy to put my hand up if there comes a time. As a football club, we’ve just got to work together to make the right decisions and get the success we’re looking for.”
In the meantime, the on-baller is aiming to take the final step and propel himself into the elite bracket of midfielders in the competition. To do so, he feels he must increase his impact on the scoreboard during matches with more goals, and also improve his kicking efficiency. “I’ve been criticised a little bit for my disposal, and I think that’s improving. Of course, I can still improve in all areas, but there’s probably two kicks a game where I’m not hitting targets going into the forward line. “If I can fi x that up, it will maybe take me to the next level, where I want to be.”
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