Roughead invited young Geelong man and Ladder success story Darcy, who experienced homelessness aged 17, to join him on arrival to the gala dinner recognising the AFL’s best and fairest player.

The Western Bulldogs’ ruckman was a nominee for the prestigious Jim Stynes Community Leadership Award for his outstanding contribution off the field to youth homelessness charity Ladder.

Roughead and Darcy spent Monday morning in a suit fitting at Sam and Ko, where Darcy received his first suit to keep.

“I was seriously speechless,” Darcy said. “Mentors, like Jordan, have great life experience and are essentially like a mate to talk to.”

While Roughead was not Darcy’s direct mentor, the pair got to know each other through the organisation and have kept in touch.

Darcy found himself homeless as a teenager due to an unstable family environment but said Ladder helped find him a safe place to live and a program to help get him back on his feet.

He said working with mentors who were successful in life, like Roughead, gave him the motivation for what was possible. Darcy now has a full-time job, has moved into a private shared residence and pays his own rent.

Attending the Brownlow Medal at Crown was something Darcy, an Essendon fan, had only ever dreamed about.

“That was really, really cool, to walk down the same carpet as players I had admired for years,” Darcy said.

“It was so surreal, especially for such a massive footy fan.”

Ladder sent out a message of support for the pair on social media: “Thank you Jordy for always putting young people first. Good luck tonight - you are so deserving of this prestigious award”.

Roughead, aged 26, also took his partner Bridget Davies, who also hails from Ballarat, on the red carpet.