Having already played two years of senior football in the country, Norwood’s
talented big man Brady Dawe, took a non-traditional route to league football.
Interesting since he made his debut in round two of the 2009 season, Dawe has
been a strong contributor for the Redlegs developing into a versatile ruck man
and forward, especially since the start of Nathan Bassett’s reign at the
beginning of 2010.
“I always wanted to play at the highest level possible,” the 197cm, 91kg big
man from the Meadows said.
“I played a year of Under 19’s football with Sturt but went back home before
that season was finished.
“It was a little ironic my first league game was in the round 2 match against
the Double Blues at Unley in the 2009 season. “
Fellow Meadows team mates, his cousin Chad Dawe (a four-game
league footballer with the Eagles and was a state country footballer) and
respected Adelaide journalist Zac Milbank were the instigators for Dawe’s move
into SANFL football.
“Zac is a mad Glenelg fan and he tried to get me to the Bays,” Dawe
confirmed.
“I received feedback back from both of them about returning to a
SANFL club.
“Each time we beat the Bays, I received a text message from Zac about what
could have been in his eyes.”
Initially used as a ruckman, Dawe has developed his game and added the
ability to play up forward to his skill set.
Dawe played his 50th senior game in the Norwood round 18 contest
against Port Adelaide and is looking forward to having a continued impact over
the remainder of the 2011 major round.
“Playing in the 2010 Grand Final was the biggest football crowd I’ve played
in front of by far,” Dawe said.
“In front of that crowd of 30,000 it took a while for the nerves to settle.
“Going down by a small margin like that (Norwood lost by six points) has been
a driving force behind our year.
“We’re looking to break the Bulldogs strangle hold on the cup.”
Dawe also confirmed his opponents in last year’s season decider, Jason
“Buckets” Mackenzie and Jason Sutherland, because of their size, were among his
tougher opponents over his first half century of senior games.
Before arriving at The Parade, Dawe collected a best and fairest award at the
Meadows Bulldogs, and explained that current senior coach of the green and
gold’s David Thomas was an important mentor in his youth.
Noted for his extroverted celebrations when he kicks a goal, Dawe, now 23, is
continuing to develop quickly as a footballer.
Dawe, who moved to the city from the Hills to live this year, and is now five
months into an electrician’s apprenticeship still dreams about having a crack at
the very top level.
The lanky forward/ruckman also played for three years in the Pulteney first
XVIII in the Adelaide College system.
He suggested that current coach Nathan Bassett has been supportive and given
him the confidence to develop into a big forward.
By Peter Argent
