HUGE SIGNING: Angus Brayshaw has signed on with Melbourne for a massive six years after much speculation about where he would play his footy in 2023.
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PREMIERSHIP Demon, Angus Brayshaw has stayed true to the red and blue as he signed a mammoth six-year deal late last week to keep him at the club for essentially the rest of his playing career, until 2028.
The huge contract extension means the club is well-poised to be one of the best teams across the next five years after achieving signatures from all the stars, apart from Luke Jackson who is yet to put pen to paper.
Clayton Oliver is signed on until 2030 while his partner in crime, Christian Petracca will also remain at the club until 2029.
With Melbourne’s stacked midfield, it was thought that Brayshaw might be pursuing a front-line midfield role at a different club after he spent the entirety of 2021 playing a defensive winger role.
That, along with reports of a lot more money on the table from multiple clubs caused some doubt for the red and blue army.
After being interviewed by SEN Breakfast earlier last week, it didn’t look great if you were a Melbourne supporter with the star Demon giving the club no reassurance that he would stay.
But just a couple days later on Thursday, he made the decision to sign on for another six years and was “relieved” to be able to move forward and focus on the rest of the season.
“It’s been an interesting year, I’ve been on the record saying it’s been a really important decision for me, and it’s weighed really heavily on me,” Brayshaw said after signing the deal.
“I now sit here really happy and relieved, and it’s a distraction that is now off my shoulders and I can focus on playing footy which is what I think I’ve been doing all year well.”
There had been significant speculation about where Brayshaw would play his footy in 2023 and after delaying contract talks and dipping his foot in the free-agency pool, he eventually put pen to paper with the Dees.
The 26-year-old’s contract with Melbourne would’ve come to an end when this season concluded, and he would’ve become a restricted free-agent.
Rival clubs circled the out of contract star and substantially bigger pay cheques were reportedly offered, Fremantle were the most likely club hoping to lure him back home to where he grew up, and to play alongside his younger brother, Andy Brayshaw at the Dockers.
He reportedly met with Essendon last week who were also in desperate pursuit of the star, but he signed on in what is a very important signing for the club.
THE premiership star felt the Dees were in a great spot as a club, being able to contest in finals and try to reach the ultimate glory again and said "I want to be a part of it".
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Brayshaw said he was happy to take his time and not rush such a big decision and was excited about the future of the club and the direction it is heading.
“It was a really calculated look at everything, so sitting back and assessing all the options, Melbourne has everything that I really needed to tick this one off. I love my teammates, I love the coaches, I think we’ve got a great list where we can compete for finals and premierships and this is the place where I believe I can become the best player I can be,” he said.
Since going pick number three in the 2014 national draft, the Melbourne Demons has been home to the premiership star for his entire career and with 138 games to his name, he is just getting started.
“I’ve been here from the beginning of my career when we had some really hard times not winning very many games, to this point where you can look very easily forward and see it all unfold how we’re building a culture of sustained success,” Brayshaw said.
“You’ve seen Christian Petracca, Clayton Oliver, all these guys sign for long-term deals as a real show of commitment, and I believe in the vision and want to be a part of it.”
You only have to look back to 2018 to see what Angus Brayshaw is capable of, he was the premier midfielder for the Dees and had a massive season which saw him finish third in the Brownlow Medal, as he helped take his side to a preliminary final.
He averaged 26.1 disposals per game with 10.8 of those possessions contested, 4.3 clearances, 4.5 tackles and 4.9 marks.
Fast forward three years to 2021 when he should’ve been playing the best football of his career at the ripe age of 25 and his averages had dropped significantly, he found himself playing a sacrificial role for the success of the football club.
He averaged 18.4 disposals per game, 1.4 clearances, 2.4 tackles and 4.2 marks with much less impact on the game throughout last season.
MASTER MOVE: The midfielder has turned into a defender this season and with 8.1 intercept possessions per game and 157 marks for the year, he has been reading the play beautifully and has fit into the back six seamlessly.
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This season
With the revelation of one of the best wingers in the competition in Ed Langdon, Brayshaw was pushed into the backline at the beginning of the year, starting on a half-back flank.
Had this positional change not worked for the club and the individual game of Brayshaw, it could’ve easily seen him leave the club, despite being hot favourites to go back-to-back.
However, the decision to move the 26-year-old behind the ball has been one of the best and beneficial moves that Simon Goodwin has made this season with the midfielder-turned-defender enjoying his second-best season of his career from a statistical perspective (2018 being the best).
Brayshaw currently leads the AFL in marks with 157 for the season and is averaging close to 26 disposals per game, but arguably the most pleasing statistic has been his intercept possessions which sit at 8.1 per game.
He has relished the role and has provided some great resistance down back for Melbourne which has seen some tougher games and losses in recent weeks.
In other contract news, Demons’ young gun, Luke Jackson is yet to sign on with the reigning premiers and will likely have a number of healthy offers on the table as the end of the year looms.
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