Broadbridge began his career as a defender with South Australian National Football League (SANFL) club Port Adelaide, the team his father Wayne played for, and was drafted by the Melbourne Football Club at the beginning of the 2001 AFL season.

He won the club's Most Improved Player award in 2001, and became a regular in the side, playing a total of 40 games over his three seasons.

[1] His final game of football at any level was in the 2004 premiership team of Melbourne's VFL-affiliate, Sandringham.

[4] In Melbourne's first match of the 2005 season, played against Essendon, the Demons all wore black armbands with number 20 sported on them in memory of Broadbridge.

Since 2007, the Troy Broadbridge Memorial Trophy has been awarded to any Melbourne-listed player that accumulates the most votes for the club's VFL affiliate.