Being a twin definitely has its advantages, and for North Melbourne's Ed Lower, it meant he always had someone to kick the footy with in the backyard. "I've got a twin brother, Nick, who used to play at Port Adelaide. Our parents put us outside to burn some energy ... and that's where it all began. Like all brothers we were pretty competitive. Even though we were always on the same team growing up we still competed to see who went better, but I think that probably set us in good stead."

Growing up in South Australia, Ed and Nick were very hard to tell apart, and while it may have been a nightmare for their parents the boys definitely had some fun with it. "I have problems telling us apart when I look back at photos. As we got older we looked a bit different. We used to do the April Fools trick and swap classes at school. I think the last time we did that was in year five, and we always got away with it."

Ed and Nick were lucky enough to share the dream of playing AFL, though it was a tough wait for Ed, who was taken in the 2006 rookie draft almost a month after Nick joined the Power. "It was a weird time because obviously you're thrilled that your brother got picked up but disappointed that you didn't get picked up yourself. Over the next few weeks though I actually trained with Port, so it was a bit of a nervous time. I had only spoken to North at draft camp and hadn't spoken to them since, so I wasn't really expecting it to be honest. All of a sudden you get a phone call saying you've got to move to Melbourne."

Getting rookie-listed by North was a bit surreal for Ed, who despite growing up in Adelaide, had always barracked for the Kangaroos and idolised hard man Glenn Archer. "I was fortunate enough to play with him (Archer). He was actually the last person I met when I came to the club. I remember going there thinking, 'Oh, I get to meet Arch today' but he wasn't there on my first day. I got to meet him a day later and it was a little weird. It was great to meet him and see that he's just another normal guy."

In his fifth year at the club, Ed has begun to settle into a regular midfield role and while he's tough at the ball, he's definitely not tough on the eye. The 23-year-old's looks earned him a nomination for the 2010 Cleo Bachelor of the Year. "Our media manager Heath O'Loughlin nominated me and told me about it after he'd done it, and he entered a couple of other boys too I think. It was definitely not something I wanted to be a part of. He put me in, stitched me up and the boys at the club got a few laughs out of it."

It was a relief when Ed discovered he hadn't made it through to the top 50 contenders, with teammate Aaron Edwards flying the club's flag. "Azza loves his appearance. You've always got to pull him away from the mirror. It's hard to get him away from there. He's always looking at his reflection, he's pretty vain. I'm sure back in the day he was a ladies man but he's got a girlfriend now and is pretty committed."

These days when he's not playing footy or at uni finishing off a business and accounting degree, you can find Ed strumming a few tunes. "A few of us have started guitar lessons at the new club facilities. The club organised a guitar teacher to come down, so I'm getting into it at the moment which is pretty exciting. I'm at the early stages. I think they want us to perform at some stage but there's no way I'd ever do that, a bit of wishful thinking there I think. I'm not good enough yet to even think of being in a band."