Angus Brayshaw suffers alarming stats drop as Melbourne struggles

Melbourne’s midfield was supposed to surge this year, but Angus Brayshaw’s stats have fallen off a cliff and now every club will ask about his status in the exchange period.

Angus Brayshaw of the Melbourne Demons.

Angus Brayshaw was one of the big stories of last year’s Brownlow Medal count.

Not even invited to attend the function, the hard-nut Melbourne midfielder had to briefly consider making a mad dash from the couch to Crown as he surged into medal contention.

He finished third, and was tipped to take the competition by storm once again this year along with the rest of that young gun Melbourne engine room.

But 17 rounds into 2019, Melbourne remains entrenched in the bottom-four and now every club will ask about Brayshaw’s status in the exchange period.

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He looks to be down on confidence, and playing more time on a forward flank and wing, swapping with midfield mate Clayton Oliver.

In Sunday’s loss to the Western Bulldogs, Brayshaw had a season-low 12 possessions after only 15 touches the week before in the Demons’ victory over Carlton.

That’s almost half his average of 26 disposals last year, while his metres gained totals and clearances have also halved compared to last season.

Something’s up with the 23-year-old, clearly.

Compared to the same point last year, Brayshaw has attended 15 fewer centre bounces this season — despite playing three more games.

That is less time in the guts, to help fit in the return of Jack Viney in 2019.

On Sunday, he watched on as veteran Jordan Lewis played the bulk of the game in an onball role on Bulldogs’ superstar Marcus Bontempelli.

Unequivocally, Melbourne plans to keep Brayshaw at the club next season after signing him to an extension last year.

The only way he could leave is if he lost faith in the club, and that would be a surprise if turned out that way.

But there will be a discussion at the end of the season about his best role, his two-way running and midfield accountability.

Can he work his way through this slump as Melbourne tries to shape him into becoming a more well-rounded and balanced footballer?

Angus Brayshaw appears down on confidence.

Coach Simon Goodwin has full faith this Melbourne group can bounce back next year if they work hard enough for it.

But rivals have repeatedly torched the red and blue on the midfield spread, and that has to change to climb back up the ladder in 2020.

In any case, it will be an interesting final six weeks for Brayshaw, who clearly hasn’t had the year he was hoping for.

Still, he will finish top-10 in the best-and-fairest, having played every game so far this year. Max Gawn should win it ahead of Christian Salem.

But the alarm bells have started ringing on Brayshaw for former Melbourne and Sydney premiership coach Paul Roos.

His pressure points, according to Champion Data, have dipped only slightly from last season to this season, dropping from 41.6 to 39.

Is he being treated harshly or not? It seems part education, part reality check.

“Brayshaw is probably the one for me, where is he sitting at the moment?” Roos said on Fox Footy.

“On the face of it, you’ve got a young midfielder, Brayshaw, who has finished third in the Brownlow and clearly you’ve got to take responsibility for your own career.

“I don’t think he is going that well, but there is real opportunity to get him in there.

“Whether they are trying to teach him a lesson or whether he needs to train harder I have no idea. But on the face of it they are concerning numbers.”