North Melbourne stars Ben Brown was sensationally dropped by North Melbourne the day his pregnant wife found out that she had lost one of the two twins.
North Melbourne coach Rhys Shaw even made an effort to clarify that Brown’s axing is purely the result of his form slump and is not related to the heartbreaking family news.
Brown’s wife Hester posted an emotional image on Instagram on Thursday evening revealing she was carrying twins, due in 2021, and that one died before the couple even had a chance to first detect a heartbeat or see the baby alive on an ultrasound.
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Brown lives in the North Melbourne Queensland bubble and was played in the loss to Carlton last week.
Shaw said Brown was even available to play in Saturday’s clash with Adelaide on the Gold Coast, despite his family situation.However, the former Collingwood and Sydney defender said Brown’s recent form simply did not warrant selection.Brown’s demotion came on a day of selection bombshells from North Melbourne with star Jared Polec also taxed on the back of his form.
Polec bizarrely received four votes in the AFL Coaches’ Award in the Roos’ Round 8 loss to Carlton.However, it is clear the votes didn’t come from Shaw.Shaw said it is a good time for Brown to have a rest, but insisted the star forwards omission from the team was purely form related.
Weve made a couple of changes due to the position were in. Ben Brown and Jared Polec will be left out this weekend, Shaw said.Ben Brown has had a tough period, on and off the field. We really feel for him with what hes going through, and we think its a good time for him to sit out. Hes been really good this week after our chat.
“We think a rest for him will be a circuit breaker and we know he will come back fighting.
“He’s been working really hard, as I said to you guys last week, but he just hasn’t been getting the results and we’re in a position now where we have to get some results.
“We feel as though this is the right time for him to step out of the side and make way for Maj.”
“For Jared, his body of work hasn’t been up to what we expect. We’ve had the discussion with him and he knows what he needs to work on.
“Polec is more about his role and playing to that. We have certain standards and behaviours that we judge the team by and everyone stands accountable. Jared’s a great player, and he’ll bounce back. He’ll be involved over the next few weeks.”
Brown has essentially been replaced by star tall Majak Daw, who is making his return to the AFL 706 days since his last senior game.
Aussie NFL star Adam Gotsis was among several fans who clearly didn’t like the cold-blooded decision.
“Drop shaw before big ben Brown,” Gotsis posted on Twitter.
