When chasing something great, everyone has a reason that drives them forward. 

For Oliver Hayes-Brown, that guiding light has been his sister.

Now, entering his third season at the Swinburne Centre, Hayes-Brown is firmly focused on making an AFL debut in the yellow and black.

His source of motivation comes from his younger sister Phoebe, who pushes him to reach that goal.

In a Richmond Media production, ALL IN will pull back the curtain at the Tigers like never before, providing fans with an unfiltered look at what it takes to be an elite AFL athlete. ALL IN will premiere on richmondfc.com.au and Richmond’s YouTube channel on Tuesday, February 24 at 6:30pm.

“My little sister, she has special needs, she's non-verbal, so my whole family learned sign language,” Hayes-Brown told ALL IN.

“In terms of support and inspiration, I think it's mainly been Phoebes. Just knowing how she treats life and how she sort of attacks everything definitely inspires and helps me.

“Whenever we're having a big training or a big day, or I'm feeling tired or whatever, I'm like, oh well, you know, Phoebes always attacks it, so why can't I?

“She's been to a lot of basketball games, I don't know how much she actually enjoys sitting in the stands watching, she'll often bring an iPad or something.”

Hayes-Brown’s path to football has been anything but conventional. He originally grew up playing basketball, and later pursued the sport in the United States, competing at college level with the UC Riverside.

Returning to home soil, he then joined the Perth Wildcats in the NBL as a development player for two seasons.

Standing at 208cm tall, Hayes-Brown reflected on growing up shooting hoops with his dad in the driveway of their Mornington Peninsula home. Yet it wasn’t until he picked up a footy at 10 years old that his true passion for the game was ignited.

“I was born in London, my parents were both working over there, I lived there for one year, and then we moved to Hong Kong, and I lived there for about five years,” Hayes-Brown said. 

“I remember my dad and I playing basketball when I was probably four or five years old. He used to play with a group of mates, and they would all bring their sons, so we would all be shooting around off to the side where the real men played.

“I played (footy) under-12s for the Mount Eliza Redlegs for a year, and then eventually had to stop because of the basketball commitments. 

“I always had that little kind of thought in my head that I wish I could have had a chance to see what my footy career would have been like.

“So, when my agent said that there's probably still a chance with this whole Category B thing, I knew that I had to at least have a crack at it.”

In September of 2023, Hayes-Brown joined Richmond as a Category B Rookie, where he has since remained, honing his ruck craft in the VFL.

Last season, he played 16 VFL games, putting on a dominant performance in Round 14 against the Northern Bullants, finishing with 26 disposals along with 36 hitouts.

Just two years into his football career, the 25-year-old admits the transition has been a steep learning curve. However, he credits the guidance and support of Ruck Coach Ivan Maric for accelerating his development.

"My biggest growth with footy has probably been just the skills part, learning all the skills from scratch again,” Hayes-Brown said. 

"I've had great coaches that have helped me out every day with it. I’ve spent a lot of time with Ivan Maric.

“My first year there, I was probably annoying him a lot because I would come in every day and ask him, you know, 'did I run to the right spot here, should I have handballed here, was my tap there good'.

“He just wanted me to have a crack at it and he didn't care if I stuffed anything up.”

The full ALL IN documentary will be available to watch on Tuesday, February 24, at 6:30pm, on richmondfc.com.au and Richmond’s YouTube channel.