Young gun midfielder Andrew Brayshaw has joined the likes of Nat Fyfe and David Mundy as one of the elite midfielders in the AFL, according to football commentator David King.
A two-time premiership winner with North Melbourne, King said the close attention paid to Brayshaw in rounds three and four were a sign of respect from the rest of the competition.
Brayshaw had 19 disposals against Carlton and 15 against Hawthorn when under a heavy tag.
Without the close attention, Brayshaw racked up 29 disposals against Melbourne, 32 against GWS and 33 against Adelaide.
The 21-year-old’s haul against Adelaide was the highest on the road for a Fremantle player aged under 22 years of age.
“I think he breaks into that top-20 discussion now, if not top 10. He’s right up there,” King told Fox Footy.
“There’s a new man in town - Andrew Brayshaw. His first five weeks of the season - his first two weeks were really good, (then) he got tagged for a couple of weeks and I think when you demand a tag, there’s a reason.
“You’re almost breaking into that elite bracket.
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“We haven’t really elevated many players into that bracket. He had 33, nine of those became scores and 17 were contested. I thought he was enormous.
“I think he’s already there. In a game that doesn’t really tag, we haven’t really tagged many players over the last two or three seasons.
“This guy, as young as he is, to be starting to command a tag is a big shift.”
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