Ben Brown admits he is still pinching himself over the fact he is now an AFL premiership player.
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Speaking three days after playing a key role in Melbourne's drought-breaking triumph, and still wearing a premiership medallion he said had barely left his side since receiving it on Saturday night, the Devonport product described his new-found status as "surreal".
"This what I definitely dreamed of growing up, but I don't think it has fully sunk in yet,'' the 28-year-old key forward said.
"It has been a few days after and I think it will probably take a long time [to sink in] and definitely the feelings in the few days afterwards and the feelings on game day were unbelievable, and will be very difficult to match in football terms.
"You can't really plan for that feeling after the siren as all the preparations you do as a team you get so focused on that and on the day itself you are nervous.
"I actually found that getting out on the ground was the best thing for me as I was so nervous in the sheds getting my ankles strapped, but once I got out on the ground it felt like another day of footy in a way.
"Obviously it was different, but I felt much more comfortable when I was out there.
"It was good to get to halfway through the last quarter and know we were going to win, that was a really good feeling."
Brown, who kicked 3.2 from 10 touches and four marks in the 74-point win over the Western Bulldogs at Optus Stadium, described the moments after the final siren as "pretty amazing".
"The feeling after the siren went, it was just that feeling that everything had come together, which is pretty unbelievable,'' he said.
"It is hard to describe it, but the rooms afterwards were really fun, just dancing with the guys and just seeing so many smiles on faces, my jaw was pretty sore by the end of the night from smiling myself."
Saturday's triumph came in his 13th game as a Demon, the club he joined last trade period after 130 games in the royal blue and white of North Melbourne and put the full stop on a year which has seen his enjoyment and love of the game reignited.
His part in the premiership team came after a delayed start due to pre-season knee surgery before taking his time to find where he really fit in Melbourne's forward structure.
"It [this year] has shown [me] how much football can be fickle at times and that it can turn on a dime,'' said Brown, who was originally drafted to North Melbourne from the VFL as a mature-age player having been overlooked in his younger days.
"I got to a point this year where I had been in the team a couple of weeks and had got dropped back to the VFL and probably had to make a choice and I really wanted to put my best foot forward and the club had put a lot of faith in me, and I wanted to repay that.
"But I wanted to enjoy my footy and the best way to go about that was to get back to training and working hard from a training point of view and after that try to translate that into form on game day."
Brown, who played for Devonport and Glenorchy before moving to Victoria, said he had a strong level of pride for his ability to perform on the big stage as he ended the night as one of five multiple goalkickers for the premiers.
He described the 17-minute third quarter blitz that set his side on its path to victory as it turned a 19-point deficit into a 24-point lead at the final change, as some of the best work he had seen from a midfield group, a charge which was led by Christian Petracca and Clayton Oliver.
"There weren't really any passengers for us on the weekend and I think that has been the way we have gone about it this year, with everyone playing their role and doing their bit when it's their turn and fitting into the team structure, and that is definitely something I have tried to take into my game as well,'' Brown said.
Next on Brown's agenda is reuniting with his wife Hester and young daughters Esme and Aila who he hasn't seen since the Demons hit the road for the finals series.
He said the situation had been hard on Hester, who had been by his side through the tough times but was unable to be there for the ultimate high.
"It has obviously been very difficult to be away from them,'' he said.
"But I know it has been harder for them being at home [in Melbourne], and we have been really lucky to have some family help us out during this period of time, but Hester has done an amazing job with the kids and we we are on the home stretch now."
He is set to fly out to Melbourne on Thursday.
He did have some family in Perth watching on, with parents Doug and Melissa; brothers Dominic, Alex, Luke and James, and grandmother Val able to attend.
"To see them in the rooms afterwards and be able to give me a hug, I know they were super happy and super proud to be there,'' he said.
"There has been countless hours mum and dad have spent in the car shipping me around to things and I am forever grateful for that."
While he's now ready for a well-earned rest, Brown will soon enter a rare pre-season without the need for any surgery, something that has him already excited about what 2022 might deliver.
Brown kicked 25.13 in his 13 outings this season.