A NEW BALL FOR BRUHN
IT is fair to say that Tanner Bruhn has the sporting world at his feet.
The 16-year-old Newtown junior will line up for his Geelong Falcons debut tomorrow, three days after being named in the Victorian under-17s cricket team.
It completes a whirlwind season for Bruhn, who was recently named as the Vic Country MVP at the national under-16s carnival in Queensland.
The son of 1996 Mathieson medallist Matthew Bruhn will also become the third father-son player at the Falcons following Keidan Rayner and Tom Richardson, whose parents played in the same team as Bruhn senior back in 1992.
Bruhn said although he had not anticipated receiving the call up, it was an honour to be selected to make his debut at such a tender age.
“I wasn’t really expecting it but I’m pretty happy,” he said.
“I had a chat with ‘ DOK’ (coach Dan O’Keefe) before I went away to the national carnival and he said he would like to play a 16-year-old but we’ll see how your carnival goes.
“So I’ve been coming to training leading up to it and will be in a wing rotation with Sam Walsh and Ned McHenry. It’s a massive honour and a privilege, and I’m really looking forward to it.”
O’Keefe said he had no issues naming Bruhn given he had spent a season playing for Geelong Grammar against bigger bodied players in the ASP Sports competition.
“It’s a credit to Tanner how, one, he performed at the Vic Country carnival, but then also on the back of that how he has trained and persisted with us at training with the under-18s Falcons,” he said.
“He is a very determined kid and we are sure that he is more than capable of being comfortable at this level.
“He plays for Geelong Grammar and is playing against some of the TAC Cup’s best midfielders as it is, so we’re excited and I think it is something the group can get a bit geed up for and that is a handy thing for us to have.”
Bruhn becomes the third under-16s player since the early 2000s to play for the Geelong Falcons and follows in the footsteps of Luke Hodge and St Kilda defender Hugh Goddard.