Brenton Sanderson had a bit of experience under his belt when he first took the field for Geelong in the mid nineties.

Sanderson or ‘Sando’ as he is known around the club had played Adelaide and Collingwood before he was picked up by Geelong in 1995. Sanderson played in round one against Melbourne at the MCG. He felt like a ‘fish out of water’ when he was put in the backline, after having only played attacking positions.

The 21 year old had played the entire pre season cup and was told in the team meeting the Thursday night before the game that he would be playing. “I was thrilled,” he said.

Sanderson’s family watched the game live on television from the family home in Adelaide. “It was great to run out onto the ground with the likes of Brownless, Ablett, Couch and Barnes… there was also Hinkley and Pickering, an established side of superstars”.

Sanderson started in the back pocket and was flanked by Michael Mansfield and Tim McGrath who looked after the young player. It was also Brad Sholl’s debut for the Club, so we bonded well.

“I did not do too well in the first quarter and was fairly disappointed but the coach persevered and I stayed on the ground,” Sanderson said.