Brent Crosswell

The Heart of it: A distinctly Tasmanian conversation

There have been few more brilliant or flamboyant footballers than Campbell Town’s Brent Crosswell, who won four VFL premierships with Carlton and North Melbourne.

An extreme talent possessing skill, speed and power, Crosswell was a schoolboy prodigy, whose feats in big games were legendary.

But he was also highly temperamental and, by his own admission, indifferent to the game. This was a constant source of friction between the star player and his legendary coach, the late Ron Barassi, with whom he shared a complex, often volatile relationship.