Brett Ebert has had his best start to an AFL season, leading the Power’s goalkicking so far. Tom Dittmar caught up with him before training on Wednesday to get to know him a little better…

If you didn’t make it as a football player, what else would you love to be?
That’s a tough one, probably be a carpenter as I always loved doing that at school. I did woodwork in year 12 and really enjoyed that. Also I may have been a fireman as two of my uncles are firemen and my brother’s a fireman so that would have been good.

Did you have any heroes growing up that you looked up to?
Always looked up to Dad and my older brother. I suppose Dad because you always look up to your father and my older brother because I always followed the same teams as he did and I always had a kick of the football with him.

What was the feeling like the first time you ran out onto the field in a Power guernsey?
I was actually more nervous in the Magpies guernsey when I played at Alberton Oval but my first Power game was good. It was over in Perth against West Coast in Round 2, 2004 so there was a bit less pressure running out over there. We had a good win and it was Chad Cornes’ 100th game as well.

What do you like to do away from football?
I’m doing some house renovations at the moment so I love renovating. I like to surf a lot as well and basically just hanging out with mates.

Who's the funniest player at the club?
I’d have to say Jacob Surjan. He receives a little bit of grief from the other players as he’s pretty easy to stir up. At the moment he’s not too happy with a few people who have played a few pranks on him. It’s funny to see him stirred up though.

What’s the best thing about being an AFL football player?
It’s your job. It’s the best job in the world to have, to do something that you love and you get a bit of time off away from footy as well. Also playing in front of the crowd gets you up and gets you motivated. It also shows off the good work of the team that we’ve worked on all pre-season. A lot of jobs get unnoticed but here people can applaud us when we do well.

What’s something that most people wouldn’t know about you?
I have a pet lizard, which I have had for a couple years. It’s a beared dragon. Toby Thurstans has a couple of snakes so we’re probably the two weirdest at the club.

What part of your game do you most want to improve this year?
I suppose fitness, I haven’t got the best fitness so I’ll keep working on that. Also kicking goals, I need to keep working on that and working with the forward coach and the other forwards.

How do you relax before a game?
I tend to be pretty relaxed, I suppose just being around your team mates. You get there a bit early and have a kick with them and basically make sure you’re ready to go. I don’t need to get pumped up that much so that’s pretty good.

What are your main goals for the near future?
I’d like to play in a premiership with the club. At the moment we’re going pretty well, we have a good young bunch so that always helps. Just personally I want to play every game this year and look to kick about 40 goals and make a contribution to the team.

Who do you think are the best three players in the AFL at the moment?
I’d say from Port we’ve got Chad Cornes whose awesome at the moment, Chris Judd is always up there and another guy from West Coast probably Daniel Kerr. They’re three great players to watch, they’re vital for their team and play consistently well every week.