Western Bulldog Jack Macrae could be leading Brownlow Medal, according to Champion Data

JACK Macrae has flown under the radar in recent years. But the stats men say his superb 2018 form could see him upstage some of the AFL’s biggest names later this year. SEE CHAMPION DATA’S LEADERBOARD

Jack Macrae has been dominant in 2018. Pic: Michael Klein

WESTERN Bulldogs midfielder Jack Macrae could cause a major boilover in this year’s Brownlow Medal after surging into joint leader after nine rounds, according to Champion Data.

The number cruncher’s prediction model has the Dogs’ ball magnet tied with Hawthorn onball machine Tom Mitchell on 11.7 votes, ahead of Friday night’s clash against Collingwood.

But Richmond’s Dustin Martin’s hopes of winning back-to-back Brownlows have taken a hit in recent weeks after West Coast found a way to combat his famous fend-off move by chopping down hard on his arms on Sunday.

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And in another surprise, West Coast wingman Andrew Gaff has risen to third place on Champion Data’s chart, as five Victorian suitors including the fast-rising Melbourne chase the free agent’s prized signature.

Gaff is likely to put off a decision on his contract until after the mid-season bye at the earliest.

Bulldog Jack Macrae is having a stellar season. Pic: Michael Klein

The Bulldogs’ last Brownlow medallist Adam Cooney (2008) said there was no doubt Macrae, 23, had become one of the league’s top midfielders after bolstering his contested ball game this season.

Macrae, who has stormed in from $101 into a $9 fourth-favourite with TAB, would be one of the biggest Brownlow Medal bolters since West Coast’s Matt Priddis’s shock win in 2014.

“I reckon he (Macrae) will be in double-figure Brownlow Medal votes at the moment, because even in the games where they lost by a bit, I think he might sneak one (vote) in,” Cooney told the Herald Sun.

“And I think he may have got up to three three-vote games.

“So I definitely think he will be around the mark at the moment and people underestimated him in the first few years thinking he was just an outside runner, who ran up and down the wing.

“But he has added to his game. He wins a heap of his own footy. His contested possession rate has gone through the roof and I think his hands are almost the best in the competition.”

Fremantle’s Nat Fyfe is the $3.50 Brownlow Medal favourite and is fourth on 10.1 votes in Champion Data’s predictions.

Max Gawn is the No.1 big man in the game. Pic: AAP

Dustin Martin might be hanging this year’s Brownlow around Nat Fyfe ‘s neck. Pic: Getty Images

But a big man could also win the coveted prize for the first time since Western Bulldogs’ ruckman Scott Wynd in 1992.

Melbourne’s Max Gawn is ninth in the Champion Data count and third on the AFL Coaches Association leaderboard.

But Macrae could lurch ahead this week under lights against a Collingwood team that doesn’t usually employ a tagger.

Cooney said Macrae’s performance in a rain-soaked loss to the Crows last week was a good example of his more well-rounded game.

“They overused the footy in Adelaide on Friday night but he was on the bottom of every pack, feeding them out,” he said.

“So he is right under the umpires’ noses getting noticed and I think the footy world is doing the same. That’s going to happen when you get 40 possessions in games.”

Macrae has become the Dogs’ no.1 midfielder. Pic: Michael Klein

Macrae, who finished third in the Bulldogs’ best-and-fairest last year, is expected to be leading the club champion award this year.

He is second for most disposals in the league on 307, behind Mitchell on 319.

Cooney also said Macrae’s unflappable temperament meant he was well equipped to deal with the inevitable heavy tagging attention that was likely to come his way, helping the No.6 draft pick to continue to poll strongly in the second half of the season.

“He has been copping some heat already, Touk Miller went to him in the Gold Coast game and he got sat on, so I think he deals with the tag pretty well,” he said.

“Some players get frustrated (when they) can’t handle it but because he is a pretty laid-back character I don’t think it fazes him, it doesn’t get in his head.

“He just plays his natural game whether they’re on him or not, he is a pretty cruisy cat.”

BROWNLOW MEDAL RACE

CHAMPION DATA PREDICTIONS (After Rd 9)

Jack Macrae (Western Bulldogs) 11.7

Tom Mitchell (Hawthorn) 11.7

Andrew Gaff (West Coast) 10.6

Nat Fyfe (Fremantle) 10.1

Dustin Martin (Richmond) 9.5

Patrick Dangerfield (Geelong Cats) 8.6

Rory Laird (Adelaide) 8.5

Trent Cotchin (Richmond) 7.9

Max Gawn (Melbourne) 7.9

Ben Brown (North Melbourne) 7.5

Andrew Gaff is among the reasons the Eagles top the AFL ladder. Picture. Phil Hillyard

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