THIS time last year, a change in role had Brodie Kemp firmly focused on cementing his spot in the Carlton team.

He managed to do exactly that. The move from the backline to forward line saw him play the first five games of 2025, including a five-goal haul against the Western Bulldogs.

Yet despite that scoreboard return, Kemp felt as though his best performance as a forward was coming against West Coast in Gather Round. Making an impact on the ground and in the air, Kemp didn’t hit the scoreboard himself, but he produced two direct goal assists and his role was being performed to a t.

And then…

A ruptured Achilles in the last quarter of that game, with the result already settled in the Blues’ favour, was a bitter pill for Kemp to swallow. But now approaching the final weeks of 2025, Kemps finds himself in a good spot.

“I’m going really well. I should be fully training by January - everything is going really well, which is nice.

“I felt I could be really useful in that third tall role. Some of those early games gave me a lot of confidence and I felt like I was ready to take that next step, which a lot of my players in my draft year did that season: it was just really unfortunate that the footy gods weren’t on my side that day.

“It’s given me a bit to reflect on and a bit to work on during the course of my rehab.”

Kemp is no stranger to long-term injury rehabilitation. It was in his draft year when an ACL injury meant his first season in the AFL system was wiped out.

But the 24-year-old immediately noticed the differences from that recovery in 2019 to what he has gone through in 2025. While his ACL rehab was filled with progress and markers to hit, the recovery from an Achilles injury is as arduous as it is repetitive, which fellow forward Zac Williams braced him for.

He was also doing all of that while out of contract at the end of the season, but a two-year contract extension come year’s end ensured Kemp’s tenure at Carlton would continue - “and that’s something I really don’t take lightly”.

That was exacerbated by a difficult year on the field for the Blues in 2025, which had Kemp watching on helplessly from the sidelines.

“I took a lot from Zaccy - he’s the only one at Carlton who has done their Achilles. It’s different in that it is so repetitive: it’s all calf strength and power, getting it back to what it was or even better than what it was pre-injury.

“You’re doing the same thing for nearly six months of the rehab, which mentally makes it a bit harder I reckon - but it’s also a shorter period of time.

“It’s a catch 22 because if you’re winning, you want to play and be part of it. If you’re losing, you want to be part of it to try and help. There were a lot of those battles throughout the year, but fortunately I had a good rehab crew with some of my best mates at the Club: you obviously don’t want them to be going through it, but it helps you get through.”

There was also a trip to Europe in the back end of the season which both Kemp and the Club decided would be best for the injured Blue, giving him the mental refresh away from IKON Park before launching into his rehab upon his return.

In Kemp’s mind, it allowed for a tangible point in time which gave him the chance to reset.

“That trip with my girlfriend Sophie was such a good break for me: it gave me the motivation of something to not look forward to pre-trip, but also have the trip, come back and then be ready to get back into some running. It was at a period of time in my rehab where I could do things at a gym overseas and not be under the eyes of everyone here.

“It gave me something to look forward to, to have my break and come back. I felt really motivated about what I wanted to work on and come back a better athlete.”

That quest to come back better than before has also coincided with a vastly changed attacking mix at the Blues since Kemp’s last game.

A more dynamic forward line seems to be in the offing for the Blues, with Ben Ainsworth and Will Hayward arriving at the Club while Ashton Moir had a key breakthrough in the second half of the year on the way to a Rising Star nomination.

For Kemp, that’s as exciting as it gets, and indicative of the refreshed Carlton he’s come back to upon pre-season’s resumption.

“The beauty of our forward line is it’s so dynamic now and suits a lot of the players we have. It allows us to share the load a little bit more, which I think will help us.

“I know it can be said every year, but I really do think it’s such an exciting time for our forward line - you can feel it when you’re out there training.

“We got to a point last year [as a playing group] where we weren’t scared of change, and it got to a point where a lot of people were ready to welcome it. It almost feels like a new club in that there are so many new people speaking, new relationships to build, a fresher feel around the group and a different energy around.”

If Kemp ever needs to be reminded of a fresh energy at IKON Park, he doesn’t have to look very far.

When Kemp was drafted in 2019, he was quick to reunite with Andrew Walker - the former Blue who Kemp shared a connection with back in Echuca. Fast forward six years, and Kemp is spending pre-season camp with Andrew’s son Cody.

“I think I’m the age now that ‘Crippa’ was when I came in. That doesn’t seem right!

“When you see Cody coming through, it’s obviously super exciting. I’ve known Cody since he was coming through juniors. I was obviously too old to ever play with him, but I’ve watched a couple of games from him for Echuca.

“It’s going to be nice that I’m here for another two years and I get to play at least one year with him… and hopefully many more.”