It has been 628 days since Greg Broughton last played in front of the Fremantle faithful, but the second-year Gold Coast SUN can expect no love lost between him and the unforgiving fans of the purple haze.
The running half-back defender will return to his former stomping ground for the first time since defecting to the Sunshine State via the 2012 free agency period.
Although the agony of missing out on a grand final berth alongside his former teammates was disappointing, Broughton made the most of his fresh start on the Gold Coast last season.
He notched 17 senior appearances in his new club colours, and provided invaluable experience on and off the field as a mentor to the side’s improving defensive unit.
While there might not be any hostility between him and his old friends over in the west, Broughton says he won’t be back down against what he predicts will be one of the SUNS’ biggest tests for the 2014 season.
“There are definitely no ill feeling at all; I’m excited to go back and play at Freo for the first time,” Broughton told SUNS TV.
“We will have to bring our A game and play four quarters of football to ensure we stay in the game… They’re a good quality side so we’re looking forward to the challenge.”
Broughton says he has found many similarities between the last season’s grand finalist and the code’s new kids on the block.
In his 2009 debut season, the then 22-year-old played 15 games with a developing Dockers team that celebrated six wins that season.
The following year, the West Australians went on to play finals footy, which included a semi-final match up against Geelong.
After a slight setback in 2011, the Dockers, under Ross Lyon, played in consecutive finals campaigns in 2012-13, finally reaching the GF last year.
Having watched the Dockers’ progression from inside the club and as an outsider, Broughton is confident the SUNS can tread a similar path to success.
“There are definitely similarities between the two clubs. I started off as a young fella (at Fremantle) and then came to the SUNS when they were at a similar age, and I can see the work rate is the same so they’re (younger players) on the right track.”
Broughton says the side’s ability to now run out games of football was crucial to its hopeful rise up the premiership ladder.
“Two weeks ago when we played Richmond, we had only two on the bench for pretty much two-and-a-half quarters and still managed to run out the game, so that is a huge confidence booster for the playing group.
“We’ll take that going forward and hopefully we can sustain that over in Perth.”
