PORT ADELAIDE defender Jack Hombsch says stopping North Melbourne forward Ben Brown when the sides meet on Saturday will be a team effort.
Brown leads the AFL’s race for the Coleman Medal with 19 goals - one more than Sydney’s Lance Franklin.
25-year-old Brown is remarkably agile given his 200-centimetre frame and Hombsch said stopping the ball getting to him was the key to shutting him down.
“He’s in great form, he had a great year last year and he’s started off really well again,” he said.
“It’ll be more of a team effort – you’ve got to limit the ball getting to him and the quality of
“He’s going to kick goals on anyone if the midfielders are streaming out and kicking it to him one-on-one so you’ve just got to
Hombsch played his first AFL game of the season on Saturday night in the loss to Geelong after being plagued by injury in 2017.
The 25-year-old looked composed under pressure and finished with 15 possessions, seven marks and eight spoils.
“Obviously the result was disappointing, clearly, but I’m just happy to be back and playing,” Hombsch said.
“When the boys are winning games, it’s hard to get in, you know your team’s playing well so you don’t make many changes.
“We’ve still got great depth there so not by any margin is my spot solidified or anything so you’ve still got to play good footy and we’ve got to get back on track as a team as well.”
His return came on the back of what coach Ken Hinkley described as ‘irresistible form’ playing with the Port Adelaide Magpies in the SANFL.
“You need to be playing well and you might have to do it for four or five weeks in a row and wait for the opportunity.
“You just need to make sure that when the opportunity does arise you are in good form and
“We’ve got a lot of young guys coming through and we do have a bit of competition in that key position type role so it’s healthy competition.”
Hombsch managed just 13 games in 2017 after a frustrating year with
He is now taking a pragmatic approach to his football and is focussed on making the most of his time back in the side.
“It was frustrating, obviously, because you just want to be playing every week and seeing other blokes play in your spot, you know, it’s something you’ve got to deal with,” he said.
“But you have those ebbs and flows in your career.
“A couple of years ago I was really fortunate and playing well and then you have your dips in form, but everyone goes through that and that’s just the nature of it a little bit.
"There's no point
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