Mark Browning
1975-1987
251 games
138 goals
All-Australian 1983
Captain 1984-1985
Best & Fairest 1983

In towns like Trafalgar, in Victoria's East Gippsland region, football clubs are the heartbeat of the community. Mark Browning started his incredible football journey at the Trafalgar Football Club, and his family returns annually to present the Keith Browning Memorial Medal on behalf of his late father. On one occasion Mark joined them, he strolled along his junior footy ground, vividly recalling the freedom of playing footy as a kid, marvelling at the joy those memories brought.

Keith played 53 games for South Melbourne between 1951 and 1954. At just 22, as many did, he left the VFL, landing a more lucrative deal to coach in the country. "Mum and Dad were both very young when they moved to Trafalgar; they'd never been there before, and they just gave it a go. But that was the making of them," Browning said.

Immersed in football, Browning enjoyed a childhood filled with sport. The family moved to Wangaratta in 1968, where fishing also became a major attraction, and after five years there, they returned to Melbourne. Browning was 15 and just beginning to take the game more seriously. He joined the Beverley Hills Football Club, and by the time he was 16, Browning won the Under 19's VAFA best and fairest. Although unsure what to do with his new silver tea set, delivered to his house as the prize, he knew there could be a future in footy.

Having qualified for South Melbourne under the father-son rule, Browning received a visit from the Swans' recruiting manager, past player Hugh McLaughlin, who appeared at Browning's Under 17 Grand Final and invited him to South's pre-season training. However, Browning also lived in Fitzroy's zone and the Lions asked him to join them in a practice match, which he did, kicking five goals. "As Dad said, I created a market for myself'," Browning laughed. "I was always going to South, though."

His uncle, Jack Hamilton, also played 16 games for the Swans in the 50s, and he grew up surrounded by red and white. Browning realised a childhood dream in 1974 when, at 17, he officially joined the club. Like many young players, he spent his first season in the reserves before debuting in Round 4, 1975. Across his first handful of matches, Browning played on Hawthorn's Ian Bremner, Richmond's Francis Bourke and Carlton's Alex Jesaulenko. Welcome to League footy.

"Ian Stewart came in as coach in 1976, and for the group of us younger players, he was fantastic," Browning said. "For my first 50 games under him, I played as a tagger, so I got to play on the best players every week. That was my first full year in the seniors, and I finished third in the best and fairest."

"I didn't sleep well on Friday nights, but it was a great grounding. Stewy's philosophy was, 'If they take you to the ball, you're a good chance to get it.' So, I had that belief because he gave me a clear role to play, which helped me a lot."

Leading into the 1977 season, South Melbourne had featured in the VFL finals once in 32 years. However, Stewart had built a young team hungry for success. The Swans defeated eventual premier North Melbourne in the season's final round to qualify for an Elimination final against Richmond, which they ultimately lost. But Browning enjoyed that season immensely and described his teammate Graham Teasdale's Brownlow Medal-winning performance as the best season he's ever seen anybody play.

On a personal note, Browning achieved another boyhood dream in '77, featuring in two matches for his state. He played eight games for Victoria, which he classifies as one of his greatest achievements. In his first match, he kicked six goals from a wing, and in 1982, he won the Simpson Medal as his state’s best player. “I played for Victoria six years straight, and for someone like me, who wasn't playing in finals regularly, to play with the very best players, I'd be pinching myself; it was just incredible," Browning recalled.

Renowned for his versatility, competitiveness, and raking left foot kick, Browning was selected in 1978, to play for Australia against Ireland in a Gaelic Football series. He regards the experience of playing at Dublin’s Croke Park in font of 50,000 people as a career highlight. By then, he’d become one of the competition's most damaging players, before knee reconstruction surgery in 1979—still a relatively new and unknown procedure—temporarily halted his progress. Two years later, the entire South Melbourne Football Club embarked on its own revolutionary journey.

The events of 1981 sparked a bitter feud between two factions that both loved their club. Browning, now vice-captain, formed an impenetrable bond with skipper Barry Round, and both men believed the club needed to relocate to Sydney to survive.

"I've had to think about that long and hard over a long period of time," Browning reflected. "At the time, I thought I had to take a position as a leader. I was working at the club in development, so day to day, I could see how tough it was. Nobody wanted to spend any money on the ground and the facilities."

"I also thought when you've got Graeme John, the boss of TNT, Craig Kimberley, who started Just Jeans from scratch, and Jack Marks, another successful businessman, all so passionate about the club but couldn't make it work financially, I couldn't see much purpose in staying. Barry and I wanted to keep our identity and the red and white jumper, and despite the different sides and opinions, everyone was just so passionate about the club. Nobody wanted to see the club die, so we had to determine the best option."

In 1982, the Swans flew in and out of Sydney, playing home matches at the SCG. Despite the early struggles, they were competitive and claimed the Night Premiership, adding substance to the new venture. The following year, players, coaches, and staff relocated permanently. Although Browning described the transition as tough, these pioneers collectively made it work.

Browning won the 1983 Swans best and fairest and an All-Australian jumper, showing tremendous leadership on and off the field. Awarded the captaincy part way through 1984, he played through injury as skipper during the frustrating 1985 season. When the game's first private ownership group took charge of the club, Browning reverted to his preferred lieutenant's role as vice-captain to Dennis Carroll.

"That was all a bit surreal. Suddenly, all these new players arrived, and we were on top of the ladder. I didn't feel like it would last; it didn't feel sustainable," Browning said. "But everyone bought in, and it sharpened everyone up because you weren't guaranteed a game anymore."

"The biggest eye-opener for me was when we started winning games in '86. We were packing out the SCG. That was the best thing for me in '86 and '87, playing in front of big home crowds, and I realised we just had to get our act together on the field, become a good club, and people would come to the SCG to watch us."

Browning retired after the disappointing 1987 finals campaign, eight games short of the Swans games record, but feeling he had nothing left to give. Few players have given as much to the red and white cause. He embarked on a successful coaching career, winning a premiership at the Hobart Football Club, before moving to Queensland, coaching Southport for two years, then becoming a critical contributor to football's growth in the sunshine state through his development work with AFL Queensland.

"There aren't many guys that get to live their dream," Browning said. "I always dreamed of playing for South Melbourne; Bobby Skilton was my idol, I always had number 14 on my back, and I'm happy I made a strong contribution over a long period."

"I'm also just as happy to see the high quality of people that have impacted the club. People I've had long-term relationships with, like Dennis Carroll, Tony Morwood and Dean Moore, have had an unbelievable impact on making the club what it is today."