This weekend the Club acknowledges a significant milestone achieved by one of the Demon’s most recognisable players, Nathan ‘Boxey’ Breen. 2024 is his 19th consecutive season with the Demons. He is the 8th player to reach this milestone.
His time at Penno started in 2006 with two seasons of Under 18s, before playing his first open-age game in 2008. He then had five seasons (2008 – 2012) playing a mix of reserve and third grades. In 2008 he was a member of the third grade premiership side.
In 2013, Boxey and Jarrod Myers became the nucleus of a re-formed third grade side, after a two year hiatus in which the club was unable to field the ‘’thirsty thirds’’. Jarrod was Coach and Box was Captain and the newly formed third grade side was an immediate success, winning the 2013 Division Four Flag. Since then, Boxey has played almost exclusively in the third grade side, making it his own fiefdom, and he is also the team’s heart and soul.
In his eight seasons leading the third grade side, Box has been either Captain, Coach or both for the duration and was Captain/Coach in 2020. His commitment to the team is unrivalled and he likely holds the club record for 3rd grade appearances, currently 164 games. In addition to the victory in 2013, the team won another flag in 2018 and was runner-up in two others, 2016 and most recently in 2019. Boxey was the captain in both the 2013 and 2018 flags.
Whilst he hasn’t won a club B&F, he has been runner-up 5 times and that’s nothing to sniff at. But, in spite of the disappointment at losing the 2016 Grand Final in which Penno had been firm flag favourites, Boxey was rewarded for his high calibre and consistent form throughout the season, winning the McFarlane Medal for the Best & Fairest in the Division Three competition. Capping off a year of personal achievements, Boxey was also named Pennant Hills Footballer of the Year, creating Club history by becoming the first player outside of the senior team to win this award.
At the 2016 Phelan Mostyn Medal awards night, Boxey received his McFarlane Medal from Tom Harley, former Geelong veteran and one-time General Manager of AFL NSW/ACT. When asked about how he prepares for the season, Boxey responded glibly … “Ah, yeah … pre-season is probably not my forte … I don’t think I’ve got a hard-ball get all my life … I just hang at the back of packs and get plenty of touches that way.”
He has a passion for the game and is a loyal Penno man. Brendan Gregor, a former assistant coach says that Boxey is ‘ultra-competitive’ and is a ‘self-confessed sports nut and footy nerd. He makes it his mission to know the opposition each week, spending time going over results and player stats to be as prepared as possible.’ Box is a ‘smart player, reads the play really well, enabling him to get around the field to be in the right position to stop an opposition forward thrust or be the start of an attacking passage of play for Penno.’
For the past 2 seasons Box has dropped back to the fourth grade side playing in the Division Five team where he is an inspiration to many of the newbies to the club and the code. At 34 years of age and with 19 seasons of footy under his belt, he is the rock of the team, setting the example for his teammates.
In 2020 Box reached 200 games in round 7 versus North Shore. Unfortunately, it was a loss and we’re hoping that this week’s match is more fruitful.
On behalf of everyone at Pennant Hills we wish Boxey the best of luck for his 250th game milestone match and congratulate him on this magnificent achievement!
Go Penno!
