Greinke's forward momentum on and off the field

Now he also has his own YouTube dance channel, is a dancer for Adidas Australia, and teaches dance to the next generation of young male dancers.

He loves dance because it allows him to “compartmentalise my life away from footy”.

Greinke puts a lot of physical and mental preparation into his football, and dance allows him to “take off my footy head and think about something else”.

“It's helped me find the balance and not stress as much,” he said.

However, his main passion is his work he gets to do at Ambrose Treacy College, in his role as the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander program coordinator.

“It means everything to me,” he said of the work. “I'm a proud Aboriginal (Wakka Wakka and Wuli Wuli tribes) man.

“My mum got given up / taken away when she was a baby, so I spent a lot of time trying to find out about our family.”

He considers himself blessed by the help people have provided to him to get back in touch with his culture; particularly people in roles like the one he now fills at Ambrose.

“I feel like I have a responsibility to support our young people and help them achieve their dreams,” he said.

Many of the young people he works with are dealing with challenging situations and can often lack positive male role models. Some don’t know a lot about their culture or history.

One of the key components of the role, which he describes as 'immensely fulfilling” is to embed Indigenous perspectives throughout the school wherever he can.

Easts Tigers captain Jake Foster could not speak highly enough of Greinke, calling him “a great human”.

“I hold Brett in high regard,” Foster said.

“As a person, he is obviously passionate about his footy, but away from that he is a proud Indigenous man who is doing great things at Ambrose Treacy College; he is a very good role model for the young people at the school.”

Foster, who is also a proud Indigenous man (Wiradjuri tribe) who works in the community, also spoke about Greinke’s contribution to their team.

“He brings professionalism and a great work ethic (to the Tigers). He is a very inclusive with everyone at the club and always puts the team first,” Foster said.

There is an example of the times when Greinke would rise at 5am to be at his fruit and vegetable store in Brisbane's Central Station by 6am, selling to rush hour commuters before getting on with his working day and training.

The business has grown and now, as well as the original stall there is one on a Thursday and another – farmers markets – on Saturday.

He doesn’t do the early starts anymore, but he still links with the farmer suppliers, organises transport of stock, liaises with the Brisbane City Council and makes sure the whole business is running smoothly.

It does not matter which team he is playing for, on the field, his coaches and team mates know what to expect of him and know that he will deliver.

XXXX Queensland Residents coach Jon Buchanan highlighted this trait as one of the key reasons for his selection, as well as his good character.

“Defensively he is good, his work rate is great, and we think he will complement the other fronties we've selected really well,” Buchanan said.

“I've known Brett for a few years and he is a really good young man.

“In a team like this, you want good people in camp.

“Brett ticks all the boxes for us as a player and a person.”