Meet Essendon’s silent assassin
Patty Ambrose has been a rock in Essendon’s defence this season. (Photo: AFL Media)
PATTY Ambrose is Essendon’s silent assassin.
You’ll rarely see him on media street, he’s quietly spoken, and he’s not one for the fanfare or the glitz and glamour that can come with being an AFL footballer.
All he wants is to let his on-field actions do the talking.
And amid a rich vein of form – arguably his best in the red and black – the 27-year-old is doing exactly that.
A mainstay alongside Michael Hurley and Cale Hooker, Ambrose has quietly gone about his business this season, featuring in every game and cementing his position in a back six that has conceded the third least points in the competition.
With his trademark closing speed and bone-rattling physicality, the fearless defender ranks first at the club for one-percenters (65) and spoils (56), while he’s won 93 per cent of one-on-one contests.
Only Kaiden Brand can boast a better percentage, but Ambrose has been involved in 13 more one-on-one contests than his Hawks counterpart.
“It’s (season) been good. I’m getting continuity and stringing games together,” he says, having overcome injuries that have plagued him in recent seasons.
“There are still things to work on, like joining in on attack and taking more intercept marks, but defensively it’s been good.”
The Essendon faithful has often marvelled at Ambrose’s ability to put everything on the line with scant regard for his personal safety.
At 191cm and 92kg, he’s far from one of the goliaths, but across his six seasons at the Bombers, you’d be hard-pressed to find him shirking a contest. Ever.
It begs the question: where does this ultra-competitiveness come from?
“Just from having my older brother Murphy,” comes the reply.
"We were so competitive growing up. I always played footy with him. He’s a year older, so I was always younger and smaller, so I reckon that helped. I had to fight for everything. He was bigger and stronger, but I reckon I’ve got him now.
“We played together at Ashburton Junior Football Club as juniors too. Even during lunchtime at school, I’d always hang around him and his mates. We were pretty competitive. Everything we did turned into a competition.”
Having taken the unconventional path to the AFL, Ambrose knows what it takes to fight for something.
He wasn’t one of those talented juniors who came through the then-TAC Cup.
Instead, he scrapped it out for Coburg in the VFL before linking up with Old Xaverians.
In 2013, he and brother Murphy were recruited to Essendon’s VFL team.
Featuring in seven VFL games that year, Ambrose balanced footy commitments with working as a bartender at the Skinny Dog Hotel in Kew, along with tree lopping and studying environmental management at Deakin University.
His impact in a short period for the VFL Bombers was so profound that, at the end of 2013 and at the mature age of 22, Ambrose was rewarded with a spot on Essendon’s rookie list.
“I think it (path to AFL) helped with that competitiveness,” he says.
"You’ve gotta fight. I didn’t think I’d ever be a star at VFL level. Even at local level, I just competed but I always knew I could take that step up if it was to come.
“What I’ve learnt is that you can’t get comfortable. There are always young guys coming up who are really talented and have played some good TAC Cup and junior footy. You’ve got to train hard and fight for your spot each week.”
Ambrose credits new key-position coach Ben Rutten for his improvement in 2019, with the former All-Australian defender a guru on the art of positioning and spoiling.
He also looks up to “good mate” Mark Baguley for his teammate’s ability to “fight tooth and nail in every contest”.
Patty Ambrose is flying high in 2019. (Photo: AFL Media)
One man who’s been a constant in Ambrose’s time at Essendon, however, is Hayden Skipworth.
One of his biggest admirers from day one, the Bombers’ 2013 VFL coach saw first-hand what a competitive beast he had in his squad back then.
Though Skipworth doesn’t work as closely with Ambrose as he used to – he now oversees Essendon’s midfield – his influence is still largely felt.
"‘Skip’ knows how to bring out the competitiveness in me. Before a game, he always comes over and he doesn’t have to say much. He’s got a few lines that get me up and about.
"He’ll ask me who I’m playing on and pretty much tell me to smash him.
“There’s a narrow focus, but I still need to play my team role. Each week I get given a job. It’s simplified for me, which is good.”
Ambrose will tonight line up against Hawthorn in his 12th consecutive game, a new personal best in a season.
He has a personal connection with the brown and gold, having barracked for the Hawks as a kid and idolising Luke Hodge for yep, you guessed it, his toughness.
But if his desperate, driving tackle on Brad Hill in the dying moments of Essendon’s famous 2015 win over Hawthorn is anything to go by, Ambrose will again be hellbent on getting his Bombers over the line against their fiercest rivals.
"We seem to have a few big games against them. The crowd gets into it and it builds you up.
“‘Harvs’ (performance coach Mark Harvey) is always one to play on that rivalry and you can definitely feel it out there. It’s a big rivalry.”
Essendon and Hawthorn will go head-to-head from 7:50pm at Marvel Stadium tonight.