There wouldn’t be many Melbourne Victory fans who have a bad word to say about Leigh Broxham.
The Victory utility has social media pages and several chants dedicated to him, as the club’s former kit and boot man became a four-time A-League winner and club legend.
The 31-year-old occupies a special place in the hearts of Victory fans – with his versatility and loyalty putting him above the rest.
On Friday night Broxham will play his 300th A-League match when the Victory host Perth Glory at AAMI Park.
While it will be a special occasion for Broxham, the Victory utility describes the occasion as a “line in the sand” match after several honest internal conversations among the players and coaches after the side’s loss to Adelaide United.
“We came in and addressed [the form] as a playing group first day we were back and with the coach as well and obviously it’s not good enough from our point-of-view,” he said.
“It’s a bit of a line in the sand saying we have to start picking up points or the season’s going to get too far away from us.
“As part of the leadership group you really have to identify what’s going on, so you are a lot more accountable now.
“We like to think of ourselves as a successful club there’s still stuff we can achieve this season definitely.”
Broxham, 31, says the players share the views expressed by head coach Marco Kurz, who said the team needed to return to basics after the loss to Adelaide.
“As a playing group we met and we said the same things,” he said.
“We’re not shying away, we’re not blaming [Kurz] we know as a playing group we have to do things better [like] the basics, fighting for balls and duels and little things like that.
“I don’t really sugar coat anything…we spoke to the coach about things, we had an honest conversation.
“It’s probably something we’ll keep pretty close because it’s what we spoke about between us, it was simple little things – it wasn’t anything bad but something we keep to ourselves.”
Victory sit 10th on the table after seven rounds, a position unfamiliar to Broxham – who has been involved in 18 finals for the club.
The 31-year-old lifted silverware in his third game – coming on as a second half substitute in Victory’s 6-0 win over Adelaide United – but admits there were times he considered different options after falling out of favour with coaches.
“There was a time under Ernie [Merrick] where I signed a three-year deal and then after a year he said he wanted to try some younger guys and that was his choice…it was what it was, I looked for other options then.”
“When Ange [Postecoglou] came in as well we didn’t have any conversations around it but I wasn’t in his plans either, but I put my head down and worked my way into his plans I think.”
Aside from making his debut, Broxham identifies his goal in the side’s 2015 Grand Final win as his biggest highlight in the blue-and-white.
“The Grand Final at AAMI Park was pretty special,” he said.
“We played well I scored…at the end I felt on top of the world at the end there.”
