IT WASN’T that long ago when going head-to-head with some of the game’s best forwards seemed an absolute world away.

While Brodie Kemp has his sights firmly set on Geelong on Saturday, with a potential match-up against either Ollie Henry or even Jeremy Cameron in the offing, he joined SEN earlier this week to discuss his journey both before and during football.

It was five years ago when Kemp was well and truly making a name for himself as one of the standout candidates in his draft class. But just as he was looking to launch into the all-important part of the season, an ACL injury ended his year prematurely.

Looking back, Kemp admitted that there was a time he thought his AFL journey may have been over before it even began — but more time in the game has provided him with the perspective needed to look at the bigger picture.

“When it happened, I thought my potential draft chances were going to be slimmed quite significantly. I was reassured and told by a lot of recruiters that I’d be fine,” Kemp said.

“I slid a bit in the draft order, which was totally fine — those clubs with high picks want an instant impact. I was ruled out for that first year when I got to Carlton, because they took the conservative approach so they could get the full year of rehab into me and conditioning to then attack my second year.

“It was a big tough to deal with it at the time, but looking back and reflecting, it’s definitely helped me get through challenging times a bit better.”

Kemp was ultimately recruited to the Blues with pick No.17 in the 2020 AFL Draft, the same number as his guernsey number for the Blues. 

But it took him nearly two years to pull on the Navy Blue jumper for the first time, earning his debut in the penultimate game of the 2021 campaign. 

It could’ve been a tough slog for Kemp, who was coming into a new club as a youngster with not only rehab from a long-term injury on the horizon, but also in a world which was just about to enter the unknown of a pandemic.

However, he looks back on that time as a key part of his initiation at Carlton.

“Coming in, especially in rehab, you’re already isolated as it is, but then we went into those small groups - training with six or eight people - and then the rehab boys would train by themselves. It isolated you more.

“But the best thing for me was when we went to the hub. Considering my circumstances, it allowed me to become really close with the guys, hang around them every day, be in the same environment.

“In some sort of way, I was a bit lucky that happened, because in a normal environment rehab can be quite a lonely place. In the hub, that bridged the gap and allowed me to connect with my teammates.”

Kemp would’ve been justified to think he could’ve used a bit of luck to come his way after his opening few years. Despite those two games at the end of 2021, it was another frustrating year in 2022, featuring in just four games — with one of those as unused sub.

The turning point came in the 2023 pre-season, where he made his own luck.

“I did a lot of work in that off-season to get my body right, and made sure I was getting that belief and confidence. The big thing for me was playing some quality VFL footy, and once I got my opportunity, I made sure to really show my strengths and make sure I could see myself fit at the level.

“It was the self-belief, that ‘okay, I can do this, I can play at the level’.

“I still had a lot of growth in my game that I wanted to get after, and I’m still trying to get after it now. This year is about becoming that more reliable player, more consistent in the contest, more consistent with my ball use and trying to hone in on those details to become a reliable player for the team.”