Brad "Otto" Ottens (born 25 January 1980) is an Australian Rules Football player for the Geelong Football Club.

Career

Richmond: 1998 – 2004

Selected at pick 2 in the 1997 AFL Draft, Ottens rose to prominence at Richmond as a strong overhead marker, with an extremely accurate and long kick for goal. He was also a part-time ruckman. During one season he was touted as the most accurate kick for goal in the AFL. However a season ending ACL knee injury (and reconstruction) posed a major setback to his career. In subsequent years he struggled to regain his form.

Geelong: 2005 – present

2006 Mark of the Year

In search of a ruckman and key forward target, Geelong picked up Ottens in a trade for the 2005 season. After debuting in Round 1, and becoming the one thousandth player to play a game for Geelong, he again struggled to have a major impact in the first year at his new club. He was the subject of an infamous post-match press conference by Mark Thompson in 2005. Here Thompson defended Ottens by saying "For some silly reason, you people want to assassinate him. It's just rubbish. You people, all of you, ALL OF YOU, leave him alone!" Some see it as a defining moment for Brad.

Since then Ottens has been able to hold down a key spot in Geelong's line up. He has provided a vital key in the absence of Kent Kingsley. In 2006 Ottens showed signs of improvement, particularly in the ruck. He also took the AFL Mark of the Year in round 5 against Sydney. He played all 22 games in 2006.

The week after Geelong's exit from the 2006 AFL season, Ottens was involved in a drink driving incident which saw him have his licence cancelled for 11 months.^[1]

In 2007 Ottens was in near career best form and made the 2007 All-Australian Team. He played a majority of the season as Geelong's main ruckman rather than as a forward where he had played mostly since joining the club. During the Cats' five-point preliminary final win against Collingwood Ottens was voted best-on-ground after giving a game-winning performance in the ruck. The following week he capped off a stellar season, among the best players in his side's record breaking grand final victory over Port Adelaide. He noted that it was the highlight of his career.

Ottens is currently contracted to Geelong to the end of 2008.

Statistics

Statistics are correct as of end of 2008 season (September 27, 2008)^[2]

References

External links