![\"Peter](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1774536677_785_1ecd3a876adb7de8d96940cb7ea548dcc28f9be6.png\")
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March 27, 2026 \u2014 12:16am<\/p>\n
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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n Save this article for later<\/p>\n Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime.<\/p>\n Got it<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n Geelong midfielder Tanner Bruhn says he never lost the desire to play AFL football after being stood down from the game for a season while facing sexual assault charges, which were withdrawn in November.<\/p>\n Speaking after the Cats\u2019 narrow win over the Crows at GMHBA Stadium<\/a> on Thursday night, the 23-year-old said his focus was on enjoying football, rather than dwelling on the previous 12 months.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t want to go back too far \u2013 the main focus for me is looking forward and putting the past behind me,\u201d Bruhn said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not just me. It\u2019s my family that have been dealing with the last 12 months, so I\u2019m really just looking forward to what\u2019s ahead, and that\u2019s where my focus will be, and [I\u2019ll] continue to play footy and be a good brother and son and a teammate.\u201d<\/p>\n Bruhn said his time away from the game made him realise just how much playing football meant to him. He emphasised just how grateful he was to the Cats, his teammates, and his family and friends for supporting him throughout 2025.<\/p>\n \u201cThe club have been amazing,\u201d he said. \u201cThey have been a rock for me. I\u2019m forever indebted to this footy club for the way they\u2019ve handled everything and handled my situation.\u201d<\/p>\n Bruhn lived for a time with Patrick Dangerfield and his family last year and then spent time on a farm away from football. He watched the grand final against the Lions from the MCG sidelines and began preparing himself for the 2026 season soon after that match.<\/p>\n \u201cThe main goal for me was to get back on the field,\u201d Bruhn said.<\/p>\n \u201cI threw everything I could at it and kept myself fit. We did quite a bit of training over the summer when the boys had finished. I got stuck right into it after the grand final \u2013 I knew this is where I wanted to be. It\u2019s just nice to be back out there.\u201d<\/p>\n Bruhn always denied he had done anything wrong, and the charges were withdrawn in November after a key witness admitted in court to lying<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n A suppression order was lifted and Bruhn was immediately allowed to return to play, with his barrister Dermot Dann, KC, saying Bruhn \u201cshould be regarded now and forever as someone who was 100 per cent innocent.\u201d<\/p>\n Bruhn said he would no longer just roll into a season but would attack each game and training session with purpose.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s like anything in life when it is sort of taken away, or you don\u2019t have it for a period of time \u2013 you get a chance to reflect, and that was my chance to reflect how much our I bloody love this game and how much I missed it last year, and that is why I don\u2019t take it for granted,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Playing on a wing and as a running defender, he has immediately become an important part of the Cats\u2019 line-up and finished the match with 15 touches. He also copped a knock to the head.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m just so bloody pumped to enjoy my footy and be back out there,\u201d Bruhn said.<\/p>\n Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n![\"Tanner](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/0efe0eae9007f39b6253ed18ed77fdf594cf985c.jpeg\")
Tanner Bruhn bursts clear with ball-in-hand against the Crows. AFL Photos<\/p>\n![\"Tanner](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/d4f97c0fecdf00cd58647e750adaeeda748c0405.jpeg\")
Tanner Bruhn (right) leaves the ground with his teammates aftee their win over the Crows.Getty Images<\/p>\n