MITCH BROWN FOCUSES ON THE NUMBER ONE JERSEY

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MITCH BROWN FOCUSES ON THE NUMBER ONE JERSEY
By Wayne Cousins
24/01/2011 3:16:22 PM
Mitch Brown is confident his strong performances at full-back during the 2010 Telstra Premiership finals series will hold him in good stead for the season kick-off in March.

The former Sharks utility played 20 matches in his first year at Wests Tigers and was a revelation in the number one jersey after previously shifting between wing and full-back.

A hamstring injury late in the season to mid-season signing Wade McKinnon saw coach Tim Sheens hand Brown the full-back role for the finals.

“I achieved more in 2010 than I did in the last few years. I never played semi-finals footy before and that was an unbelievable experience,’’ Brown said.

“The most fans I had ever run out in front of before the preliminary final against St George-Illawarra were around 20,000 so to run out onto ANZ Stadium in front of 72,000 fans was just the best feeling. It is one of the reasons why you play footy.”

Brown wants the full-back role and welcomes the challenge of fighting for the position along with McKinnon and utility Tim Moltzen.

“It was good to play full-back during the finals and actually be working hard practising in that position at training,’’ Brown said.

“Playing in the one position enables you do the little things needed for each game and really practice them. When you are chopping and changing positions, you are practising slightly different skills at each session.

“By playing full-back, it enabled me to work hard on my catching and support play and being able to perfect it.”
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Brown has been working hard on defusing the high kicks at training but says defusing bombs comes down to a matter of self belief and confidence.

“If you keep saying to yourself that you are going to catch the ball no matter what, then you are more likely to do it,’’ Brown said.

“If you start thinking that the opposition is coming up and you might get hit or it is a big bomb, then you doubt yourself. You always have to be confident that you are going to take it. I guess it is hard if you drop the first ball, it plays on the back of the mind for the next one.

“At training last year, I was doing an extra 30 minutes after each session of just catching 60 bombs. I had (Assistant Coach) Peter Gentle, Benji Marshall and Robert Lui continuously putting bombs up to me.

"It made a difference during the finals in that because I did it so many times at training, it just came naturally and you put yourself into the right position.

“These days, teams have got plenty of attacking options to test a full-back out. You always have to be on your toes for the bombs, the chip kicks, the spiral kicks or the 40/20s."

Brown was one of 13 Wests Tigers players who last week made a special trip to Ipswich to help the victims of the Qld flood disaster.
 
What great depth signings we had last year in Brown & Daniella. Mitch played sensationally in the final series at fullback and I think only out of incumbency will he miss out. Perfect bloke for our number 17 jersey and will most likely be first choice to fill in if injury occurs.

I wouldn't be unhappy either if he was first selected in the number 1 over McKinnon or Moltz. Or the right wing if Beau knows the Bench.
 
Hopefully Brown is used consistently in the top 17 this season. When his confidence and form is up, he's a handy player to have in the team.
 
I agree he was great last year and for the forst time in a hell of a long time we seem to have plenty of depth with many players fighting for posaitions. we have Molz and rob lui for halfback. molz,brown and mckinnon vying for fullback and have plenty of wingers as well. a great spot to ben in but some major selection problems for the supercoach.
 
@matty tiepie said:
I agree he was great last year and for the forst time in a hell of a long time we seem to have plenty of depth with many players fighting for posaitions. we have Molz and rob lui for halfback. molz,brown and mckinnon vying for fullback and have plenty of wingers as well. a great spot to ben in but some major selection problems for the supercoach.

You aren't wrong. Add the 3 youngsters they just signed for the Wing and add existing quality juniors like Latu & Mullany, and Sheens certainly won't run out of options in 2011.
 
Brown at fullback > Molzten at fullback.

As for McKinnon, he does not done enough to show that he is 100% fit.
 
it really makes me torn between who i want at fullback. I love mckinnon because I know how good he can be, a few years back there was talk he was gonna be the no.1 for nsw. but what brown did at fullback at the end of last year really really impressed me, so i want him there. Who to choose?! I guess its a great option to have.
 
mckinnon at his best is better than brown at his best , but mckinnon hasnt been at his best for a long time because of his injuries. whoever plays the best out of them 2 and mullaney in the trials should get the fullback spot round 1\. its good that we have alot competition for spots. keep moltzen out of fullback, PLEASE! he is a good player but not a fullback!!!
 
Brown is next in line after Mck. He has and will be given time to grow into the position. Signs last year were very encouraging for Mitch and the Tigers
 
I am a fan of Moltzen but not at fullback, go back and watch round 1 against Manly last year and I'm sure everyone will agree that this isn't his position.
So fullback as far as I'm concerned is between Brown and McKinnon with both to get time there in the trials.
 
i'm glad im not the one who has to decide.
I think it will come down to Mckinnon and Brown. I'd opt for Mckinnon at 1 and Brown at 5.
Garh these selections are doing my head in.
 
It warms my heart to hear him talking about working on his support play. That would take him to the next level. Fullback has my head spinning to be honest. Ive pushed for us to sign Brown for years, and love to see him do well, but i also know Mackinnon at his best is great…......i also see the "possibility" of Moltzen being a star in the postion if he can toughen up his kick returns. Then theres my little suspicion that Daniela could be a dream at fullback. OMG, how far have we come since the bad old days to have all these options?

If he does miss out on the number one, surely he starts on the wing ahead of Ryan. Or even at right centre if Ayshford is out for the start of the year.
 
Brown will be the new Fitzy (I dont mean hes bad like him) I mean he wil be the one to sit on the bench for 77 mins a game unless a Injury happens
 
@Golden said:
Brown will be the new Fitzy (I dont mean hes bad like him) I mean he wil be the one to sit on the bench for 77 mins a game unless a Injury happens

I agree Golden.

But Fitzy was hardly used as the run-on replacement for any extended outages, I think Brown will be (if he isn't in the 13). Brown is an extremely handy, versatile player to have in our ranks! He could cover anything but the halves… although I would prefer Daniella to be the first back-up center. That bloke was so unlucky to not take Blake's spot after his hat trick.

Good call King Sirro about Daniella at fullback too. The bloke has speed to burn and great footwork. He would return the ball back better than any other option we have.
 

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