For one of the first times in his career, Jonathan Brown came under public scrutiny after a relatively slow start to his final AFL season.

Brown, who approached the 2014 season with limited preparation, had a particularly quiet day in Round 3 against Gold Coast at Metricon Stadium, when he had just two kicks, took one mark, and was held goalless.

The performance prompted media experts to question his decision to play on into a 15^th season.

“I know everyone’s going to line up and say I’ve gone one season too long,” Brown told Lions TV during the second instalment of the exclusive ‘Browny – The People’s Champ’ documentary.

“But at the end of the day, I haven’t got those thoughts. I’ve gone out and had a bad day, like a lot of other blokes do.

“Of course I’d like to be out there kicking 70-80 goals and blowing teams apart on the weekend, but if I go in with that mindset, it’s just not realistic and I’m just putting too much pressure on myself.

“My little daughter said she kept waving the flag, but after I didn’t get any goals by the second half she stopped waving the flag. You can only laugh at that can’t you?

“You think ‘why am I playing this game?’ I’m playing for enjoyment. And just because you have a bad game, doesn’t mean you drop your bundle.”

Brown responded in typical fashion with a best-on-ground performance in his 250^th match against Richmond just two weeks later, which helped silence those critics.

He went on to lead the Club in goals and marks up until Round 13, when another head collision ultimately forced him to hang up the boots.