Brennan gets his break after Beau blow

Dashing West Coast defender Jacob Brennan looks set to be the beneficiary of Beau Waters’ foot injury as he prepares to follow in his father’s footsteps onto the MCG in a big AFL final next Saturday night.

Brennan began Sunday’s elimination final against North Melbourne at Patersons Stadium as the substitute, but came on when Waters went down with a foot injury in the second quarter and finished with nine possessions.

The 22-year-old had to bide his time playing good football off half-back with East Fremantle in the WAFL before breaking into the Eagles’ side this year.

He has now played 15 matches in 2012 and is the most likely player to step up against Collingwood to replace Waters, who is almost certain to be ruled out.

Brennan’s father, Michael, was a dual premiership fullback with the Eagles.

Jacob enjoyed his first experience on Patersons Stadium on Sunday but would have preferred it didn’t come at the expense of Waters.

“It was an amazing experience,” said Brennan.

“That was the loudest I have ever heard it out on the ground in that last quarter.

“You could barely speak to someone 10 metres away and hear them out there.

“You never like to come on as the sub midway through a second quarter because usually that means someone has gone down.

“Unfortunately, our vice-captain Beau Waters did get hurt but hopefully it’s not quite as serious as it looked when he went down.”

Brennan now looks set to play his first final on the MCG next Saturday night.

That’s something he doesn’t want to get too excited about, but one thing he is sure of is that the Eagles will do everything they can to ensure the six-day break after playing at home in warm conditions won’t be a factor.

“The boys played them there last year and put up a pretty good fight, and I think we are a more mature side now and can serve it up to them and hope for the best,” Brennan said.

“I haven’t thought about it too much just yet, but I’m sure that some time during the week I will have a good think about it. I will try not to dwell on it too much though.

“Six-day breaks usually entail it being a little bit lighter on the track, but we will have a real recovery focus.

“The boys will get plenty of fluids in because it was hot out there and make sure we are professional with everything we do to make sure we are ready to go on Saturday night.”