Former Melbourne coach Paul Roos believes young Dees midfielder Angus Brayshaw has the potential to be the best of the young brigade for Melbourne in 2017.
Brayshaw has only played 31 games for Melbourne since he was drafted with pick three in the 2014 AFL National Draft, but Roos knows there's plenty of upside to the 21-year-old.
“We haven’t even got close to seeing Brayshaw’s best,” Roos told foxfooty.com.au.
“We’ve seen already glimpses of Clayton Oliver’s best and seen already Petracca’s best in periods.
“Brayshaw, as the genuine midfielder, is already a very good runner. He’s probably ahead of the other two in terms of his running. Admittedly I don’t know as much as this past pre-season.”
After 21 games in his first season Brayshaw only managed 10 in 2016, with Roos admitting his man-management of the on-baller meant he struggled to achieve full fitness throughout the opening half of the year.
Roos said he shouldn't have played Brayshaw against Essendon in Round two last season after not fully recovering from a knee injury, as Brayshaw subsequently missed the following three months of AFL football due to injuries and not being match fit.
“Brayshaw is probably the more unknown of the three (Oliver and Petracca), because of the head knocks last year,” Roos said.
“He was unfit at the beginning of last year and we played him too early. He simply wasn’t fit.”
