AFL great revved up for speedway, potential Hampden interleague match

The Warrnambool export was track-side at Premier Speedway on New Year's Day, supporting cousin Leigh Mugavin and superstar driver James McFadden.

The three-time Brisbane Lions premiership forward, who is a strong supporter of his home-town and its sporting events, is also keen to extend his tenure as Hampden interleague coach.

Brown led the Bottle Greens in a new-look under 23 concept against Ballarat in 2023.

A rematch is yet to be officially locked in but he is hopeful it will take place in mid-2024 and "would love to be involved".

"It was a really good concept. There's obviously a lot of quality players in the league," he told The Standard.

"It let the younger fellas show off their talents a bit more. I think it was pretty well received and I think the boys enjoyed playing in it.

"You never know what it can lead to."

Brown said the Hampden league side was "very young" and would be better prepared the second time around after tasting defeat. He would like to see the match at the redeveloped Reid Oval.

"It would be exciting to see them again this year with a further 12 months' development," he said.

"We were a fair bit younger than Ballarat on the day."

Brown, who works alongside Hodges Motorsport owner and fellow Warrnambool export Tim Hodges at Fox Footy, said he enjoyed sprintcar racing and was happy to introduce his children to the sport which helps drive his home-town's economy each summer.

"My loyalty is divided, obviously supporting Hodgey and Leigh Barry (my cousin) as well," he said.

"It is great to see the family involvement. On Christmas Day we were out at Nanna Val's so my young bloke was terrorising Leigh Barry with a thousand questions on how to become a sprintcar driver.

"That is pretty cool. It's good to be home."

Brown watched speedway at Archerfield while he was playing AFL in Queensland and also remembers watching major races at Premier Speedway growing up.

As for driving one himself?

"I am not sure I'd be brave enough - maybe in my younger days," Brown, who quipped he might be too tall, said.

"I will stick with running back with the flight of the ball. I have seen some of the crashes here and some of the wrecks over the years.

"I remember one night, gee I would have been 10 years old, and one of the boys nearly went through the safety net and they had to rebuild it. We didn't get home until about two in the morning."