The 27-year-old WAFL star arrived in Victoria on a Thursday afternoon in the middle of the season when he was rushed to Kardinia Park via helicopter to join his new teammates.
Twenty-nine years later, Brian’s son Brett has repeated family history by making his own switch to the eastern seaboard, albeit with less hype than his father.
Now, after two solid showings in the NAB Cup as a Saint, Brett Peake is starting to gain some attention of his own.
However, he is quick to talk down any suggestions he is the immediate answer to the Saints’ search for midfield leg speed.
“Everyone’s different. Just because you come to a new club it doesn’t mean you’re going to turn into a better player or you’re going to get more out of yourself," Peake told saints.com.au.
"It’s up to the individual, how hard you train and how you go about your preparation and your game.”
Upon arriving at Moorabbin, Peake says he was immediately struck by the dedication of his new teammates.
“Probably the one that stands out the most is the professionalism of all the boys, just the way that they train and the way they get up from game to game,” he said.
“Things like recovery and the way they prepare going into games, even training … It’s made me step up another level.”
Peake had lived all but the first three years of his life in Western Australia but has adapted quickly to the Melbourne lifestyle, living just 10 minutes away from St Kilda's Linton St base.
“The traffic’s a little busier and everyone seems to be in more of a rush, whereas over in Perth it is so laidback. The weather’s been fantastic … I couldn’t have asked for anything else,” he said.
Peake had originally penciled in round four as the first opportunity he would get to face his old club Fremantle. But a strong NAB Cup campaign from both teams means he will line up against his former teammates in Saturday night's semi-final; just his third game for the Saints.
“It’s just another game really," he said.
"We had a good win on the weekend and they had a good win. It is a side I used to play for but that doesn’t mean anything. I’ll just go out there and treat it like any other game.”
