[2] Brownless moved to Geelong in time for the 1986 VFL season and began working as a groundsman at Kardinia Park.
He went on to play 198 games and kick 441 goals, putting him fifth in Geelong's all-time goalkicking list, behind Gary Ablett (1021), Doug Wade (834) Tom Hawkins (796) and Steve Johnson (452).
With Wayne Carey and John Longmire in the side, Brownless played at centre half back.
[6] When Brownless retired from football he moved into the media, appearing regularly on The Footy Show.
[8] In August 1999, it was reported that due to Brownless' connections in the local political scene, both the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and the ruling Liberal Party of Australia were keen to recruit Brownless into politics, despite his limited experience.
He also co-hosted Morning Glory, a weekday breakfast show on Melbourne radio station SEN 1116.
Brownless appeared on Before the Bounce, a weekly football show on Foxtel alongside Jason Dunstall and Danny Frawley until the end of the 2008 AFL season.
In March 2010, Brownless joined Triple M Melbourne's new drive show The Rush Hour with James Brayshaw.
[11] He also owns the Cremorne Hotel in Newtown, Victoria[12] In January 2020, Brownless appeared in the sixth season of the Australian version of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!.
[11] They made headlines in 2016 after it came to light that, after 18 years of marriage, they had separated in late 2015, and that Nicki had gone on to have a relationship with one of Brownless's colleagues, Garry Lyon.