Tanner Bruhn has been in and out of the GMHBA Stadium over the last few days, doing all the things a new player does when joining a football club but he says he's quickly begun to feel at home at the Cattery.
Bruhn officially joined Geelong after the club agreed to terms on a deal with the GWS Giants that saw the 20-year-old come back to the region where he grew up in exchange for pick No. 18 in this year’s draft.
“It's really exciting,” he told Cats Media on Tuesday. “It's been a busy couple of weeks but it's a massive relief to be here now and join the club.”
Bruhn escaped to the balmy surrounds of North Queensland after the season as the two clubs thrashed out a deal for the former Geelong Falcon on-baller, but a call from List Manager Andrew Mackie, incidentally Bruhn's favorite player growing up, last week ended all the speculation.
He was heading home.
“I was actually at a hospital when I got the call,” he said.
“My little sister had just had a knee reconstruction so we were all helping her out. Mack gave me a call in the morning and broke the news so I had some good news to go and tell her so we were all really excited.”
The Bruhn name is a familiar one in Geelong football circles. Dad, Matt was an inaugural member of the Falcons and won the 1996 Mathieson Medal for Grovedale in the GFL, while Tanner, who went to Geelong Grammar and played for the Falcons himself, had begun to make his own name before the Giants took him with the 12th pick of the 2020 NAB AFL Draft and he headed up to Sydney for two seasons.
Bruhn said his family couldn’t more excited that he was coming home.
“Everyone is really excited. I’m looking forward to being back around a little bit more and really can’t wait at the moment.”
Bruhn watched the Geelong premiership celebrations from afar with an inkling that he could be watching his soon-to-be new teammates and said it was all a bit surreal.
“I've sort of had to pinch myself a little bit," he said.
“I was speaking with Paddy Dangerfield yesterday and it's surreal at the minute.
“They've been so successful for a long period of time and I just can't wait to join the club.”
