Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin has gone into bat for Angus Brayshaw, declaring the out-of-sorts midfielder will emerge from a tough AFL season a more rounded player.
Brayshaw’s decline in 2019 has been emblematic of the Demons’ wider midfield woes that have been a key factor in their dizzying fall from a preliminary final last year to 17th on the ladder after round 20.
Brayshaw, who finished third in the Brownlow Medal count last year, has come in for some stinging criticism this season, with some even calling for the club to consider trading him.
In terms of the the raw numbers, the 23-year-old is averaging around 22 possessions and four marks per game this season, which is about four touches and a mark down on last year’s match day output.
But the critics have mostly come for him over a perceived lack of defensive running and pressure as well as a drop-off in efficiency by foot, which has hurt the offensive side of his game as well.
“I’ve been really intrigued by the chat around Angus,” Goodwin said on Thursday.
“If you look at purely statistics, offensively it probably doesn’t look as good a year, but we think he’s really started to round his game out in some other areas.
“… I think he’s worked incredibly hard and we’re really happy with how that’s tracking.
“Clearly he’s got an offensive strength that we’ve all seen and that’s going to come back into his game.
“He’s put some stuff in place and we think he’s going to be a really rounded player moving forward.
“We’re excited by that.”
Melbourne will regain Steven May from a hamstring injury for Saturday’s clash with Collingwood at the MCG, with Jake Lever set to overcome an ankle concern to play.