AFL- Brown twins' new perspectives on big clash

THIS AFL match has major billing this week - the reigning premier Collingwood against a rejuvenated big improvers West Coast Eagles.For the first time since they were drafted, Ballarat's Brown twins will both sit out injured in the clash of their clubs at the MCG tomorrow.Nathan is sidelined for the season after a knee reconstruction while Mitch is about a month away from returning after surgery for a fractured thumb.Mitch says it was a situation probably most frustrating for their parents who will not have at least one son to cheer in what should be an exciting match.The twins have played in teams against each other once in the AFL season and a handful of times in the pre-season.Both defenders, they are usually at opposite ends of the grounds to each other.They will watch the match on opposite sides of the country - Nathan in Melbourne and Mitch in Perth with his Eagles team-mates.The twins have issued a deal on social networking site Twitter for the loser to post a picture wearing his brother's jumper.Both told The Courier it was just to "keep things interesting".Mitch said the Eagles were up for a good challenge this week and hoped they could keep momentum going."I would love to win, just to have something over Nathan for once," Mitch said."Collingwood's always beaten us and now he won a premiership - we won the wooden spoon last year - I still think he's a little scared we might beat them."More importantly, this is a chance for us to see how we measure up against one of the best teams this year."The Eagles are soaring on five wins and entering the match off a 123-goal riot against the Western Bulldogs.Eagles forward Josh Kennedy booted 10 goals last week in what Mitch said was a symbolic moment."We had Mark Le Cras kick 12 goals for us last year but there was one match where Jack Riewoldt kicked 10 goals against us, his team-mates gathered around him and cheered and Richmond got up by about 60 points. That was demoralising," Mitch said."On the weekend, Kennedy showed just how far we've come."The boys are up and about but we're certainly not getting ahead of ourselves."We just want to start getting some respect back, especially from the AFL community in the eastern states."Nathan said Collingwood was expecting a tough clash this weekend, especially with a depleted ruck department.The Magpies have dropped one match for the season, a three-point loss to Geelong two weeks ago.Nathan looked forward to seeing how the Magpies could handle the resurgent Eagles."It'll be a good game either way," Nathan said."It's a shame we're both not playing but I still have some interest in the Eagles - West Coast is my second-favourite team, even when Mitch is not playing."Mum, Sue Brown, says she still cannot help but hope both teams play well.Having sons on both teams, Sue knows individual players well across the field."It gets really interesting - I don't know how Maria Selwood does it," Sue said."I don't really barrack for any team. I just sit there quietly and just hope all players meet the expectations and performance targets set on them."Sue is proud of her sons' attitude to rehabilitation this year.She said they were her "modern-day Gladiators", often playing on the biggest and strongest forwards, crashing through with their arms up to spoil.They play hard and injury was always a risk, as for any player.Sue said her sons were training hard to get back to what they loved doing best.Mitch has been doing full-training to build body strength and is determined to return to the field as soon as pins are pulled from his thumb.Nathan has been back running for two weeks and well on track in recovery from his knee reconstruction in February.Getting out on the gym and back on the oval training with his team-mates has been a major step.Nathan has also taken on a defensive coaching role with the Magpies' VFL team to develop his game with a different perspective, at the suggestion of Collingwood football manager Geoff Walsh and head coach Mick Malthouse."You learn pretty quickly you can't dwell on it and take it as best as you can, focusing on what you can do," Nathan said."Every AFL player has challenges along his career journey ... yes, it would have been nice to play against each other but we both just want to get our bodies right."