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Dermott Hugh Brereton (born 19 August 1964) is a former champion Australian rules football player in the Australian Football League.

In a 211 game career, Brereton kicked 464 goals and played in five premierships for Hawthorn. He is also a former Director of the Hawthorn Football Club.

He is of Irish descent (his parents migrated from Ireland before his birth) and is currently a television presenter on the Nine Network.^[1]

AFL career

At Hawthorn 1982-1992

Dermott Brereton featured on the cover of the "Inside the Battle of '89" DVD in memorable moment pose after recovering from a solid Mark Yeates shirtfront, Dermott, nicknamed The Kid, played most of his career (189 games and 427 goals) in the centre half forward position at the Hawthorn Football Club, where he formed part of a potent forward line that included champion players such as Jason Dunstall.

He debuted as a young man with red hair which he later dyed blonde. His debut was against North Melbourne in the 1982 finals series, He kicked five goals and assisted in a few more.

While he played the game he had a reputation as a tough man, and as a big game performer was an important player in a number of Hawthorn's grand final teams during the 1980s (including premierships in 1983, 1986, 1988, 1989 and 1991).

Brereton was known for his bustling style and strong marking abilities and off the ball scuffles.

He won Hawthorn's Best and Fairest award in 1985 and was the team's leading goalkicker in the same year. He achieved All-Australian status in 1985. He kicked a then record 8 goals in the 1985 Grand Final.

Having bulked up over his career, Brereton became a football punisher and was known for his aggressive hip and shoulder bumps on running players. His targeting of other players by this method led to the charging rule being instigated to protect players whose intention was to focus on the ball.

In a famous incident in 1988 involved Hawthorn's rival Essendon at Waverley Park. Brereton ran through the three quarter time huddle much to the surprise of the Bomber players causing a scuffle to break out. This incident was in retaliation to a free kick paid against Brereton for kissing Essendon's Billy Duckworth while Jason Dunstall lined up for goal. Dunstall kicked the goal but due to Brereton's indiscretion, the goal was disallowed. Brereton, fuming, ran through Essendon's huddle to prove a point. Post match, Essendon's coach, Kevin Sheedy shrugged off the event as insignificant, quipping, "Just another mad Irishman!"

Perhaps the most memorable moment of his career was the 1989 VFL Grand Final that was featured in a Toyota Memorable Moments television commercial. In one of the toughest grand finals in the league's history, Brereton was lined up at the centre bounce by Geelong Football Club's Mark Yeates and hit with a solid shirtfront. Severely winded and concussed, he was attended to by trainers. He began to vomit before jogging back into the play. Only minutes later in the game, he marked and kicked an inspirational goal. He would finish with three goals in a game that Hawthorn would win by six points. He was later diagnosed with broken ribs.

During his career at Hawthorn, Brereton was selected to play representative State of Origin football for Victoria nine times and kicked a total of 18 goals.

Brereton's physical style of play came at a cost. By the end of 1992, he was suffering from crippling chronic hip pain and struggled to make a regular appearance. At the advice of his club, he retired that year.

Sydney Swans 1993-1994

During 1993, Dermott began to recover from the injuries that plagued his career at Hawthorn and expressed his intention to make a return to the game. The struggling Sydney Swans, in need of a big name player capable of making an instant impact on the teams performance, drafted him for the 1994 season. Moving to New South Wales, he played only seven games as suspensions prevented him from regaining peak form. His fame in Victoria was not equalled in New South Wales and he also failed to have any on-field impact on the Swans' fortunes. Brereton's most notable act as a Swan was stomping on Hawthorn player Rayden Tallis' head while Tallis was on the ground in a pre-season game, earning him a seven-match suspension. He would receive another seven-week suspension in that same year when Richmond's Tony Free had his jaw broken with an alleged 'karate chop' by Brereton. His only other moment of note being flattened by West Coast Eagles' captain John Worsfold. The Swans delisted Brereton the same year.

Collingwood 1995

Still itching to stay involved in competitive football and keen to prove his worth, Brereton worked on his fitness and once again made himself available for the draft. Collingwood took a gamble on the former champion player. The Collingwood experiment was slightly more successful than his innings at Sydney and in 15 games he kicked a total of 30 goals, ending his career at the end of 1995.

Post-football

After a lack of success in his returns from retirement, Brereton announced his intention to retire from football in 1995.

Brereton was inducted into the Hawthorn Team of the Century, as well as the Australian Football Hall of Fame.

His desire to continue playing football actively has seen him participate in the AFL Legends Match on several occasions. Each time his lack of fitness is the focus of much mirth by the commentary team.

On December 8, 1997, he was appointed as a Director of the Hawthorn Football Club and served for just over 8 years before retiring on March 29, 2006.^[2]

In 2006, he began playing in the Yarra Valley Mountain District Football League for amateur club Woori Yallock alongside 1995 Collingwood team mate Damien Monkhurst, kicking 2 goals on debut ^[3].

Media personality

From quite early in his playing career, Brereton pursued media appearances in anticipation of joining the media full-time when he retired. During the 1980s, he had a six-year stint on a morning show hosted by veteran television performer, Ernie Sigley, who mentored the ambitious Brereton. In the early 1990s, he joined Channel Nine when the network began showing interest in Australian football for the first time in more than twenty years. He was one of the original panellists when the long-running The AFL Footy Show began in 1994 and also wrote in The Age. In 2000 he moved to the Nine Network to provide match commentary on AFL matches when the network commenced its AFL coverage. He continued to be a regular panellist for The AFL Footy Show.

Brereton's commentary features in the computer game AFL Premiership 2005. He also starred in a minor role in the 2002 film, Trojan Warrior. Brereton, best known for his special comments role, has been criticised by some for "stating the obvious".[1]

In 2004, Brereton hosted The Run Home radio show on Melbourne AM radio station SEN 1116 with Anthony Hudson and Matthew Hardy, but left due to a payment dispute. In previous years he has also co-hosted the breakfast show on Melbourne FM station Gold 104, and been a commentator on another FM station, Triple M.

In 2005, he appeared in a Toyota Memorable Moments advertisement featuring Stephen Curry that satirised the famous 1989 Grand Final incident with Geelong player Mark Yeates. In November of that year, Brereton was involved in an altercation with a group of young men.[2]

In 2006, he made an appearance on Torvill and Dean's Dancing on Ice.Brereton left the show early after injuring his biceps. In 2006 Brereton was sacked from Triple M due to low ratings. In 2007 Brereton rejoined 1116 SEN to broadcast football, the same station he left two years earlier. He also presents on the Channel Nine holiday show Getaway.

References

External links

• Football career details at FullPointsFooty
• Bio at HawthornFC
• Toyota memorable moment video featuring Dermott Brereton in the 1989 Grand Final