Angus Brayshaw’s move into the midfield proved to be a successful one against Fremantle on Friday night.
Fresh off signing a six-year contract extension at Melbourne and despite having not attended a single centre bounce in 2022, Brayshaw was thrown into the middle at Optus Stadium in a change of tactics.
He went head-to-head with brother Andrew for much of the clash and finished with 28 disposals and a team-high 564 metres gained.
Melbourne GM of footy Alan Richardson confirmed the plans to AFL Nation pre-game and laughed off suggestions the midfield minutes were linked with his new contract.
Brayshaw was speculated to want more time on the ball before re-signing at Melbourne, where he’s predominately played behind the footy this season.
“We just think that’s best for the team,” Richardson said.
“He’ll do whatever we want him to do, he’s a good man.”
Melbourne midfielder James Harmes was out of the clash against Fremantle with concussion, opening up the position for Brayshaw.
He is expected to return next week against Collingwood.
“I was surprised to see it because it is strange to have a significant positional move at this time of the year,” Kane Cornes said on SEN’s Crunch Time.
“When you’re just looking for something, a little boost, that is an easy way to get it.”
“He was influential early as well, he has eight touches in the first quarter. I like him at half back, I think he just gives you a bit more stability back there, but now that they have (Harrison) Petty and (Trent) Rivers and (Jake) Lever and (Steven) May and they’re all healthy, and Harmes was out, that was the move and that was the time to do it.”
Former GWS coach Leon Cameron shared Cornes’ sentiment, but added the Dees' faith in Brayshaw is a credit to their brand.
“The positional change probably happened out of selection, but there’s no doubt in the chat during the week there would have been a bit of, ‘brother vs brother… let’s put our brand on the line’,” Cameron added.
“It’ll be interesting to see what they do next week if Harmes comes back in, and if they keep this rolling momentum because this was their best win of the year.”
Brayshaw attended 12 centre bounces in Friday night’s clash, the same number as teammate Christian Petracca.