THERE are people who like to collect things, then there are those, like Mount Helen's Brad Judd, who's passion has become their full-time job.
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Mr Judd, who now owns and operates online YouTube channel 'diaryofaflpper' is now a full-time memorabilia collector and seller, having turned his passion into his career, after being made redundant from his job in September 2020.
But every collector has their true passion and for Mr Judd it is the Western Bulldogs.
Mr Judd owns around 100 Bulldogs jumpers, with the vast majority having been player-worn in games or player owned.
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While getting him to name his favourite piece is akin to "choosing your favourite child", there is one jumper that stands out.
"Clay Smith who played in 2016, sent me a lot of stuff and there's a jumper he signed for my three-year-old son Eli which is very special to me," he said.
"Brad Johnson was also my favourite player and I've got two of his jumpers from his final season in 2010."
Over the years Mr Judd has built up such an online presence that many current and former players have reached out to him.
So much so, he was even able to secure a former player, Matthew Dent, who is now based in Western Australia, a ticket to the grand final on Saturday night by being able to swap his membership barcode.
He said he sources a lot of his jumpers through club auctions, via eBay and via social media channels such as Instagram and Facebook.
He has some memorabilia from every player in the 2016 premiership, except defender Joel Hamling, who ended up playing in Fremantle, but he is determined to complete his collection.
"I haven't seen anything of Joel's come across online, it would be great to be able to get something from him," he said.
He started following the Bulldogs in 1997 as a one-out in a family of Hawthorn supporters. Of course footy historians will know that in 1997, the Bulldogs were less than a kick away from a grand final, while Hawthorn struggled.
"I just wanted to be on a winning team," Mr Judd said.
And while he's copped plenty of ribbing since as Hawthorn went on to win multiple premierships, the Bulldogs' 2016 flag is a day to saviour, and there's every chance a second will be added come Saturday night.
"I've got the 2016 tattoo on my leg, hopefully we can get a matching pair," he said.
"I'm trying to keep a lid on it, no I'm lying. As the days roll across you just try not to think about it.
"I think the extra week of rest is going to help them, but it's taking a long time to come around."
Mr Judd said the collection market had exploded in the past 18 months as more people turn to online shopping.
"It's the COVID tax," he said. "So many more people have jumped on board over the past two years.
"Back in 2018-19, you could pick up something for $200-$500 depending on the style or the jumper, but now if you look at the club auctions and say look for a 'Bont' (Marcus Bontempelli) or a Josh Bruce, you could be looking at $1000-$2000 easy.
"I'm fortunate that it's now able to be my full-time career, running the YouTube channel, a lot of people see me as the footy guy, so often when they find stuff, they check in with me to see what it's worth."
If you want to find out more about Mr Judd's business, visit youtube.com/diaryofaflipper