23 September 2024, Crown Palladium, Melbourne, Australia
Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Angus Brayshaw. I'm a retired AFL footballer and I'm here tonight on behalf of the retiring class of 2024. It's certainly not lost to me that I'm making a toast to a group to which I now belong which is a bit awkward but it is an honor to do so nonetheless.
It's been about eight months since I was medically retired and just over a year since I played my last game of AFL so I have a little bit of a head start on the rest of the retirees.
But I'm not going to lie, the absence of football has left a very deep void. Days that were planned to the minute and filled with purpose, need to be replaced. And in time they will be.
Football is all-consuming, no matter how long your career was, how successful it was or even how well you've prepared for the next stage the transition is difficult and there seems no easy way around it
Having said that, I think that it's really important on nights like this to reflect on what we have achieved as a group.
Whether you're Dustin Martin, who, I checked before I came up here, and he's still officially retired. He's won every single award that's available to win. or whether you're a kid like Aiden O'Driscoll (Western Bulldogs), who was a young man who had dreams of doing what Dusty did but unfortunately he was medically retired from concussion in his first preseason.
We the retiring class of 2024 should be incredibly proud. We all hope that we've brought pride and joy to our families, our friends, our loved ones, our teammates. our clubs and also to many fans. We all achieved our dreams to varying degrees, which is a privilege that we should never lose sight of. Equally as important is casting an eye to the future and the truth, surprisingly, is that there is a life after football, which is a relief.
Tom Hawkins played 359 games. He arrived as a kid and leaves the game with several of his own. And although his career may seem like a lifetime, he like the rest of us will soon find out that there is so much more to see and to do, baling hay and mustering cattle. Perhaps? He could be the next John Dutton, TV career after this all.
So yes our careers have ended and there are feelings of sadness, grief, uncertainty anger and anxiety no doubt. But as the planing door closes on us so many others stand ready for us as we transition from this rigid and structured existence into the great unknown.
I sincerely hope that everyone in the retiring class of 2024 finds something that provides them with the passion and the purpose that I derived from playing AFL. So while I'm out at a bit of free advice, it's been 32 weeks of my retirement and that makes me a veteran - so for those watching or here tonight who joined me in retirement I've got a few tips for you.
The first is to keep your friends and family close and be kind to yourself through the ups and downs. It's certainly not going to be easy all the time but the virtues that football has instilled in us will hold us in good stead for what's to come.
The retiring class of 2024 gave so much to the game and will be sorely missed, but the legacy that we have left won't soon be forgotten.
From club captains to premiership heroes, future Hall of Famers and players who gave us moments that we’ll look back on forever. On behalf of the group, I would also like to say a massive thank you to this great game and to all of those who work tirelessly, often without recognition to allow us to go out and do what we we've done.
And most of all a massive thank you to our families and to our loved ones who have sacrificed continuously to help us along our journey. It is my incredible privilege to count myself a member of this group and a true honor to represent and toast them tonight.
So I invite everyone to raise their glasses and join me in toasting the retiring class of 2024
Cheers