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Brown joined the Kangaroos via the National Draft last week before arriving in Utah on Wednesday, while Tippett was rewarded his third opportunity at an AFL club with selection in the Rookie Draft.
Speaking from Utah University on Friday, Scott said Brown couldn’t be more deserving of his chance.
“Ben hasn’t had everything come easy to him. He’s had some injuries as a youngster. He’s put himself outside of his comfort zone, moved away from Tasmania, moved into a place at Werribee and really dedicated himself to his footy,” he told NMFC.com.au.
“I was rapt before the Draft that I knew Ben was going to get an opportunity at AFL level. We would have loved to have picked him, which we did, but if we didn’t we knew someone else would.
“It’s a great story and a credit to Ben with his work ethic and persistence.”
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Tippett had stints at Brisbane (2007-2009) and Gold Coast (2011), but it was his form for West Adelaide in the SANFL that reignited interest from AFL clubs in the mature-age defender.
“It’s a great lesson for players. Things don’t necessarily work out for them the first time,” Scott said.
“If they persist and go back to a different level and the SANFL’s a very good level of football… Joel had to play on a lot of quality key-forwards in that competition and he stood head and shoulders above the next best key-defender.
“He gets his opportunity and I know he’ll grasp it with both hands.”
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The 25-year-old will add further depth in the back half following Luke Delaney’s departure to St Kilda, while Brown’s height and versatility will keep North's more experienced talls on their toes.
“The way interchange is going and the way the sub is going, to have players who can play multiple positions is really important.
“We still think we’ve got a lot of players that people think probably are key-forwards, but we think they can play key-back as well. Ben is one of those; we still see him as predominantly a forward-ruck but we’ve got a lot of versatility with our talls now and it gives us great coverage.”
