Andrew Brayshaw – Deck of DT 2019

Name: Andrew Brayshaw
Team: Fremantle Dockers
Position: MID
Price: $485,000
Bye round: 12
2018 average: 66.8
2018 games played: 17
Predicted average: 82.3
Draft range: Likely to fall out of the top 150 (Bench Flyer)

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Why should I pick him?

More midfield time. It’s a term that is thrown around annually during pre-season training with most Fantasy coaches rolling their eyes when it’s uttered. However, there are some instances where the offseason buzz leads to a significant fantasy boost and second-year Docker Andrew Brayshaw is one such character that could springboard to relevance in 2019.

After Lachie Neale chose to take his talents north, Freo has been left with a gaping hole in their midfield, with a platoon of Dockers in line to soften the blow. Brayshaw looms as the most likely walk-up replacement for Neale, especially after Connor Blakely‘s latest injury setback. However, after registering just 66.7% time on ground (TOG) in his first pro season, expecting Brayshaw to shoulder a hefty workload for Fremantle might be jumping the gun.

It’s not impossible to see the youngster improving leaps and bounds though. He had plenty of bright moment’s in his rookie season, even if his fantasy numbers didn’t suggest as much. Even with Brayshaw’s low TOG percentage, he still managed to lead the Dockers in tackles per game (4.4) which is always a good sign of fantasy relevance. In a midfield with Neale and former Brownlow Medalist Nat Fyfe, that’s a pretty decent claim to fame. There’s no reason why Brayshaw can’t improve on that number and arguably, boost his per game averages across the board this year.

In the past players like Clayton Oliver and Jack Macrae have vaulted into fantasy relevance as their TOG increased and in his second full season, Brayshaw could become the latest example. By no means am I saying that another Oliver/Macrae is on the way, but it’s hard to see Brayshaw not improving by at least 10 points this season should he get the expected 10-15% TOG boost, even if he has to shoulder more responsibility. A year ago his 0.83 fantasy points per minute weren’t exactly elite, but that number beat out the likes of Chad Wingard, Dom Sheed, Aaron Hall, Lance Franklin and Jack Billings, all of whom have probably graced your fantasy sides once or twice in the past.

The second half of Brayshaw’s 2018 season was an encouraging sign as well. His 66.7 average was slowed down by three scores in the 40’s over his first month of pro football, yet, in the back half of the year Brayshaw went at an average of 80, a number that he’ll go close to replicating (if not surpassing) in 2019. A player with elite running ability, Brayshaw’s infamous collision with Andrew Gaff’s left knuckles brought an end to a respectable campaign from a first-year player and all signs indicate that he’ll return better than ever in the upcoming year. Tabbed as a future club captain there’s a lot to like about Brayshaw as a player, but is it a stretch to declare him as fantasy relevant?