Fremantle rookie Bailey Banfield is playing at a level that could see him named All Australian at season’s end, according to Fox Footy analyst David King.
Speaking on SEN on Tuesday afternoon, King praised the efforts of the 20-year-old, who was taken by Fremantle in the 2017 NAB AFL Rookie Draft.
“We talk a lot about Ben Jacobs and his impact at the Kangaroos, but Bailey Banfield has been doing it for a month and he has taken down some big names,” King said on SEN on Tuesday afternoon.
“If you’re putting together an All-Australian team, it’s not beyond the realms to have this guy in it.
“If you want a tagger, he has taken the most scalps this year as a tagger.
“He shut Aaron Hall down and got him dropped. He had two touches in a half of football.
“He also did a number on Lachie Whitfield for a while, who is having an outstanding season at halfback.”
As well as Hall and Whitfield, Banfield has played crucial shut-down roles on Bulldog Jack Macrae and Essendon’s Zach Merrett.
“If you are putting up an All-Australian team at the moment, Whitfield is probably in there, Macrae is in the discussion and Merrett is the most important player at Essendon,” King said.
“It is another one of those late picks where you get an absolute bonus win out of it.”
