THE AFL's answer to Forrest Gump he may be, but Essendon midfielder Brent Stanton no longer wants his football life to be like a box of chocolates.
The running machine does not want critics to be surprised by the performance he puts in out on the park. Instead he is hell-bent on producing a consistency that will help to rank him alongside the best players in the competition.
Regularly running up to 17 kilometres a game, the 21-year-old has cast off his trademark shyness and now believes he has the tools and maturity to match it with any opponent. He is keen to put that
theory to the test against West Coast at Subiaco Oval tomorrow as part of the emotion-charged farewell to his coach Kevin Sheedy and star teammate James Hird.
Stanton has this year been considered by some to be the game's next Robert Harvey. While he is humbled by the comparison with St Kilda's marathon man, he is far from awed.
"They're big shoes to fit in," Stanton said. "But it's a dream of mine to not just be one of the average footballers in the AFL, but one of the best players. He (Harvey) has obviously done that with two Brownlows and grand finals and whatever.
"He's one I based my game around as a kid and he's such an amazing player. For me to maybe be compared to him somewhere later down the track, that's a fantastic opportunity.
"But it's not just going to happen — I have to make it happen. West Coast are the best midfield in the comp and just to be able to come up against them and challenge myself, which I'm always happy to do, is an important thing for me to see where I'm at."
A little-known fact about the boy from Banyule, 21 kilometres north-east of central Melbourne, is that he played off a golf handicap of just three when he was 16 and still plans to become a golf coach when his football career has ended.
But with early tuition from former Bombers star Joe Misiti and current teammate Jason Johnson, and after matching strides with Mark Bolton earlier in the pre-season, running has emerged as his clear asset.
Stanton regularly competed at State level in cross-country in his student days and, like Hollywood's Forrest Gump, just loves to run.
"I've always just enjoyed running and it took my mind off other things — if anything was ever bothering me growing up, I'd go for a run," he said.
"If I was bored at home, I'd just go for a run. I never sat still at school or outside of school, I was always kicking the footy or mucking around with mates and I did a bit of high jump, as well.
"I always tried to keep myself busy and I'd never get a lift anywhere — I'd just walk instead. I don't know whether that's helped me now, but it seems to have so I'm not complaining."
Most footy fans see Stanton as a quiet kid who simply goes about his business. But he captained many of his junior teams and said he had slowly developed to the point where he now had eyes on one day captaining Essendon.
"I do want to captain the football side, there's no doubt about that — that's one of my aspirations," he said.
"But obviously I'm still a long way off that with Lloydy and a few other guys coming through. I'm just learning as much as possible in the way they go about their leadership skills and, hopefully, it helps me later on.
"I felt like I just had to find my feet in the first year and concentrate on my footy rather than make a personality of myself. That was my aim and once my footy started to come along, I got more confident.
"But if you ask any of my mates from school, they wouldn't say I was quiet. In an environment where people have made a mark for themselves, you don't want to come in and intrude on that and that was my main focus coming into an AFL club.
"My body's got a lot stronger in the last couple of years and I'm feeling more confident. When we've had everyone in the side, it's evened things out and you can come into your own."
Stanton was drafted with Essendon's first pick (No. 13 overall) in 2003 and now, with 75 AFL games now behind him, he looks back at the fortunate timing that will low him to be part of Hird's emotional final game.
"I've come through in the right era and I'm just honoured to have been able play with him — it's just amazing," he said.
"Obviously he's a good leader and he brings the best out of you as a person and a footballer and that's what I feel the Essendon Football Club is all about."
