He is the son of Dean Ottens,[1] who was a talented ruckman for Sturt in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL).
Dean played 116 games, won two premierships and representing South Australia seven times.
[7] Ottens was hampered by groin problems for the remainder of 1998 and did not manage to break into the senior team, playing all his matches in the reserves.
[8] Although a key-position defender, Ottens also played as Melbourne's backup ruckman, occasionally rucking directly against his brother during the match.
[13] Due to his horrendous run with injuries, Ottens was delisted by the Demons at the end of the 2000 season.