ELIJAH Hollands has had a lot to celebrate in 2024.
Moving from the Gold Coast to Melbourne to play at IKON Park, the 22-year-old was awarded Carlton’s Best Young Player award at the John Nicholls Medal event on Sunday night.
Playing a career-high 22 games and kicking 17 goals this season was a standout for Elijah, but playing 21 of those games alongside younger brother Ollie was the icing on the cake.
“Since joining last year, it’s been fantastic and a great ride to join Ollie and do what we’ve wanted to do for so long,” Elijah said.
“It’s been special: we got a taste of it this year and hopefully there’s a lot more to come.”
Ollie was elated to have his older brother don the Navy Blue, with the pair living together for the first time in seven years.
While there were no parents around to quell the brothers, they admitted that when it came to football, all competition was aimed at driving higher standards within each other.
“We’ve had a good rivalry early growing up, we wanted to push each other to be the best we can in everything that we do,” Elijah said.
“Now that we’re playing together, we’re working hard to push each other to be the best that we can.”
Looking back on their childhood in Albury Wodonga, playing professional football together was never even on the boys’ radar, with both focused on making the league individually.
Joining a long list of brothers who have played at Carlton, Ollie noted the connection is extra special thanks to their great-grandfather Martin Cross, who played 36 games for the Blues in the 1960s.
“Growing up in a small country town of Albury Wodonga, I think you aspire to one day get [to the AFL] but to play together is very special and very unique," Ollie said.
“It’s special for us to be playing for Carlton with our great-grandfather playing in the '60s, for him to watch us out there and play is very special, not only for us but for our family.”
Elijah echoed the sentiment, with the pair embracing every moment they get to play together.
Impressed with the standards that the Club set from the second he arrived, the forward has pushed himself to be better, solidifying his spot in the team in the meantime.
“I don’t think either of us were envisioning playing AFL together, and the fact that we do is really special and we’re enjoying every single moment of it,” Elijah said.
“It was perfect for me to find another level within myself because I needed to compete with these guys.”
Now gearing up for a big pre-season, the pair are looking to take their games up a notch, with just a taste of finals not being enough to satisfy their hunger.
“Being part of the finals series over the last two years makes you hungry to be able to go further – watching Brisbane win the flag this year was extremely motivating and we’re really hungry to make the next step next year,” Ollie said.
“In the off-season and throughout the summer, we’ve got a clear plan on what we need to do to reach those dreams and that’s what we’re striving for,” Elijah said.
