WHILE Brodie Kemp’s contract re-signing at Carlton could’ve been seen as the Club’s show of faith in the player, the man himself looked at it the other way. 

He was giving back to the Club that has been his home since the 2019 AFL Draft, where Kemp has faced no shortage of challenges in that time.

Arriving on the verge of a year which was turned on its head due to a worldwide pandemic, Kemp was already attacking his ACL rehabilitation when that all went down. In the years following, there was syndesmosis injury, plus stress fractures in his back that made playing - and even training - a struggle.

Now playing the best form of his football life to date, Kemp’s signature until the end of 2025 ensures the defender will continue to grow both on and off the field in the Navy Blue.

“My start wasn’t what I’d hoped for. It took me a bit to find form and continuity, but the Club was good enough to give me another couple of years after my second season after I didn’t play that much footy,” Kemp said on SEN Drive.

“It’s good for me individually, but to give back and give them what they showed me in return, it’s really pleasing.”

With more familiarity at the level comes Kemp’s natural tendency to take the game on from the back half, as has been demonstrated in recent weeks. 

He’s always backed himself in the air, demonstrated by his average of three intercept marks per game: that sees him ranked inside the top 15 across the competition. However, it’s with ball in hand where Kemp has put the work in.

“A big part of what I needed to improve on when coming into the Club was my kicking efficiency. Making the right decisions is the first part of that, and then there’s the execution.

“I did a lot of work on that in my first year and a half, and I think it’s been able to translate into my footy. Now that I’m more confident at AFL level, it’s given me more leeway to go for kicks that potentially seem a bit more dangerous.”

As he said just before the bye, confidence was always the main thing for Kemp, whether that was at AFL level or in his body. He detailed how even though he was able to play more games (whether in the AFL or for the Carlton Reserves) in 2022, he would miss training during the week due to those back injuries.

But now, when it comes to his fitness, the response is firm: “physically, I’m in the best position I’ve been in”.

Not bad for someone who brought a guitar into the hub in 2020, just to be part of it.

“I knew I wasn’t going to be playing, so I thought ‘how can I get myself involved’ without playing. Liam Jones and our strength and conditioning guy at the time, ‘Rexy’, were guitarists themselves, and they had a little concert for the boys where they called me up.

“‘How To Make Gravy’ is a good one. That’s one of my favourites, for sure.”