Narrandera’s Matt Flynn named for AFL debut

One had to wait 1944 days. The other 102. But both Matt Flynn and Tanner Bruhn will make their AFL debuts against St Kilda on Sunday at GIANTS Stadium.

The pair was told they’d be playing their first AFL games by coach Leon Cameron on Monday morning.

Flynn’s is a remarkable story of perseverance.

The 23-year-old was drafted on November 24, 2015 at pick 41.

Growing up in Narrandera in Southern NSW, he was a member of the GIANTS Academy since the age of 12.

Drafted as a developing ruckman, he was on the cusp of debuting in 2019 when he tore his ACL in a NEAFL match.

Agile and courageous, he can push forward and be dangerous as a marking forward. He is excellent below the knees for a player of his size and has developed his ruck craft working alongside Shane Mumford, Dawson Simpson, Sam Jacobs and new recruit Braydon Preuss.

At the other end of the spectrum, 18-year-old Bruhn was drafted on December 9 last year and will play the first AFL match of the season following a starring four-goal performance in the AAMI Community Series a fortnight ago.

Drafted at pick 12, Bruhn has experienced his own injury issues, missing almost all of the past two years of football in the lead up to the Draft due to injury and the COVID pandemic.

He reads the game exceptionally well and has very good fundamentals with his clean hands, strength overhead along with his ball use by hand and foot.

He’s an excellent contested ball winner and can be used through the midfield but has been playing predominately as a forward since arriving at the club.

The GIANTS take on St Kilda on Sunday at 3:20pm at GIANTS Stadium with tickets available via Ticketmaster.