By Beth Newman
He’s only 18, but already Broadbeach’s Brandon Chadwick has experiences that defy his age.
As a top-up for the SUNS reserves last year, the Rockhampton product, played against Lions legend, Simon Black, and this will be his fourth year in senior footy.
Chadwick has impressed Broadbeach coach, Wayne Petterd in the pre-season and is on track to become a regular senior player for the Cats.
Moving to the Gold Coast this year, from the Glenmore Bulls, the humble teenager doesn’t shy away from a challenge, and wants to give everything to his football.
“Haven’t really tested myself in this level before and I stayed in Rocky to finish school and now I have, I came down here to see how footy goes,” he said.
After three seasons playing seniors for the Bulls, there’s no question that Chadwick will be able to compete against hardened bodies in the QAFL this year.
“There are always stories about the bigger blokes in the country going after the younger, smaller blokes,” he said.
“Everyone just told me to run and see how I go.”
And the youngster went pretty well, playing almost every game for the Bulls seniors last year, including the grand final.
A talented rising star, Chadwick spent four years in the SUNS Academy in Rockhampton, learning a lot about what it takes to succeed in footy.
Going from the Capricornia league to the QAFL will be a big jump for Chadwick, but he is determined to throw everything at it.
“I’m still getting used to the workload of training and everything here,” he said.
“Back home, it’s an hour of training, but I, did extra training as well because of the type of style that country footy had.”
“Since I’ve been up here, training harder, everything being a lot harder and I’m obviously keen for the season to come up.”
Chadwick’s experience playing in the Mackay NEAFL ANZAC DAY clash last year also gave him a glimpse of what AFL players do.
“That was a really good opportunity to see how I go amongst the elite
“It was just a learning curve for me, learning how fast the game is at that sort of level.
“The strength that everyone has and the game skills everyone has –it’s obviously a lot higher and it’s where I want to be at.”
Preparing to play against teams with big name players and intimidating reputations, Chadwick said it was a far cry from where he has played in the past.
“Back where I’m from, biggest recruit was no one really,” he said.
“It’s certainly going to be a challenge and I’m up for it.”
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The QAFL has been reformed in season 2014 due to a restructure of the NEAFL competition.
The Queensland Australian Football League aspires to be the best community-based football competition in the state. Provide a player pathway to the NEAFL/AFL and provide opportunities for the best community players to represent their clubs in a quality competition.
Clubs applied for a QAFL licence based on 6 core pillars (Administration, Finance, Brand & Culture, Performance, Facilities and Strategic Plan).
