Bennell out again as Brayshaw gets coach’s support
MELBOURNE coach Simon Goodwin has strongly defended out-of-touch midfielder Angus Brayshaw and declared him a certain starter against Port Adelaide at the Gabba on Thursday night.
Harley Bennell will miss the clash with Port as the Demons continue to monitor his return to senior footy after so many years of frustration with soft tissue injuries.
The 27-year-old has played four matches this season, including the past three consecutively, but had no impact against the Lions on Sunday night.
“Harley has done an incredible job to get his body to a position where he can play consistent AFL footy,” Goodwin said. “We just thought that with the four-day break, at this stage it’s not a risk we were willing to take.”
Brayshaw‘s form has been the focus of plenty of scrutiny this season, and last week he played just 65 per cent game time in his side’s four-point loss to Brisbane.
The 24-year-old shocked the footy world when he polled 21 votes to finish third in the 2018 Brownlow medal, averaging more than 26 possessions per game. However, his numbers have dropped remarkably since, and he’s managed just under 15 per match in 2020.
Brayshaw gathered with just nine disposals against the
Lions, his lowest tally since round five 2016, his second season in the League.
Goodwin didn’t hold back when reporters quizzed him about Brayshaw’s game time last week, and whether he still has a spot in Melbourne’s best 22.
“Look it’s a subject I’m sick of talking about,” Goodwin said on Wednesday.
“The three previous weeks he had 79, 77 and 82 (minutes of game time).
“He got stuck on the bench a couple of times on rotation and there weren’t many goals scored in the game.
“It’s a non-topic for me and something we should all move on from. Angus will be playing. He’s a really good player, he obviously had a quiet game last week, but his form leading up to that had been solid.
“He probably hasn’t quite been at his best, but we’ll get a response out of Angus and he’ll be back to his best very soon.”