Ex-Ballarat and North Ballarat Under-18s. At about 15 years of age he and twin brother Mitch stopped playing football and concentrated on basketball where they made Victorian under-age teams. He was given huge responsibilities from the moment he started with Collingwood because of the retirement of James Clement and injury to Simon Prestigiacomo. Yet he showed the capacity to match it with star forwards like Matthew Pavlich, Jonathan Brown and Matthew Richardson. He tapered later in the year due to the heavy workload.

Brown had great stamina and absorbed all the information given to him by coaches, and had a reputation for honesty, diligence and conscientiousness. Initially he lost his place for the 2010 Grand Final but came back in when Simon Prestigiacomo announced he was not fit. Brown did a good job on Saint star Nick Riewoldt in the Grand Final and a fine one in the replay. He missed 2011 due to a knee reconstruction and had interruptions in 2012, but was solid in 2013.