West Coast defender and South West product Brady Hough opens up on what special Bunbury clash means

When North Melbourne plays West Coast in Bunbury on Sunday, 44 footballers will be in foreign conditions at Hands Oval.

When Brady Hough’s studs hit the turf, it’ll feel like home.

The South West product — from Harvey — is preparing for one of the most exciting opportunities of his short career.

Region locals Hough and defender Reuben Ginbey will get the rare chance to play in front of friends and family in the first time premiership points have been up for grabs in regional WA.

The 22-year-old is a product of South West Football League side Harvey-Brunswick-Leschenault, so he has played plenty at the Bunbury ground when taking on tenants South Bunbury.

A strong contingent of loved ones will be on hand to watch the hometown hero be part of history.

“It means a lot. It’s great for football in WA. It’s a pretty big league down there and it’s special for me,” Hough told The West Australian.

“I played in the South West league growing up, so to get back down there in front of players that I played against and some players that I played with, it’ll be pretty fun and I can’t wait to get down there.”

Hough played senior football for the Lions as a skinny teenager before making the move to Peel Thunder and eventually the Eagles with pick No.31 in the 2021 draft.

The Eagle credits his time playing alongside the likes of former Fremantle midfielder Jesse Crichton at a young age with fast-tracking his development.

“I spoke about it a lot going through my draft year and how much it (playing league footy) set me up to perform when I went to the next level,” Hough said.

“Being exposed to some bigger bodies playing league but also learning from those guys who have played in the AFL, those little things off them like what they do in preparation.

“They helped me out as a 16-year-old coming through the league ranks, they were great for me.”

A lot has been made this year of the lack of wins Hough has tasted in his limited time at the Eagles, breaking down in an interview with The West Australian after the club’s heavy defeat to Carlton in Gather Round.

And while getting a 10th career victory against the Roos would be sweet regardless, Hough concedes for it to come in Bunbury would come with a little bit extra.

“It’ll mean a lot. Any win is great but I think it’ll be great for the group and great for South West footy,” Hough said.

“We should have a fair crowd there and hopefully the majority will be in the blue and gold.

“We’ve got another home game next week and hopefully we can just get consistent with what we’re chasing and really build some momentum going into the bye.”

Fast track to the start of this season and Hough had developed into one of the best medium-sized defenders in the AFL, being known for putting the clamps on some of the best small forwards including the likes of Charlie Cameron and Tom Papley.

In a credit to his drive, Hough and coach Andrew McQualter made the move to turn him into a midfielder where he is beginning to thrive after a period of adjustment.

“I’m loving it. I’ve had some games where I’ve struggled and had some games where I thought I’ve gone pretty well,” he said.

“It’s finding that consistency now within my role and I’ve learnt what it’s all about now whereas going in I was trying to learn what it was about.

“Now, a few weeks in, I’m really settled and know what I need to do to perform and play my role for the team.

“Hopefully I can just get consistent with it now and I’d love to stay in there long-term and help the boys out as much as I can.”

While Hough’s position may have changed, he has also had to fall back on his defensive attributes, having been tasked with doing some tagging roles on the better midfielders if they get off the chain.

Hough successfully limited the impact of Brownlow favourite Bailey Smith in the Eagles’ loss to Geelong at Optus Stadium on Sunday night after the Cats midfielder had an incredible 15 disposals in the first term.

North Melbourne have some star midfielders in Harry Sheezel and Luke Davies-Uniacke, but Hough said they would start by playing their own game before switching it up if one of them got “off the chain”.

“We’ll wait and see. We saw Bailey Smith started to get off the chain a little bit last week and I started to go to him,” Hough said.

“If someone does start to get a bit damaging then we might look to it but there’s no plans now.

“I focus on my own game to start with and if we can play the game and win the stoppage like we want it should go a long way to winning the game and getting it played in our front half.”