Brown will leave with his teammates on Monday for his first trip to the high-altitude fitness camp.
He says the trip is proof that the Magpies are the most resourceful club in the AFL.
“Most of the young kids when they get drafted would love to go to Collingwood because it is so far ahead of everyone else with the facilities and programs. I’m really thankful I’m here and grabbing everything out of it,” he said.
Brown missed just one game since debuting in round one, taking on some big names such as Matthew Pavlich and Jonathan Brown in the process.
While most promising youngsters are handled with kid gloves, Brown says his development was boosted by being given the big jobs right from the start.
“Looking back on it now, I really worked a lot and took everything out of the experience I had. Even some of the times when I got smashed and looked underdone I took everything out of it and learnt,” Brown said.
“I’m really excited coming into this pre-season and know what I have to do to come up against these big forwards and stick at it.”
Brown admits there were times of doubt, but says the learning experience was invaluable for the rest of his career,
“It was nerve-racking but when you get out there you just want to do the best for the team. I suppose that is the sort of guy I am. I just forgot about that and knuckled down on my opponent,” he said.
Brown said he no longer feels like one of the kids in the Collingwood side, but rather a leader after having responsibility thrust on to his young shoulders.
“Even coming into this pre-season I feel a bit like one of the older guys because I was thrown into the deep end and had to cope with it. Looking back now, I’d rather do it that way than being put in cotton wool and looked after for the first couple of years. What I’ve learnt over the past year has been huge and I am really grateful.”
