Rising Fremantle midfielder Andrew Brayshaw has claimed his first Geoff Christian Medal after a sensational fourth season – joining elite company as one of the youngest men ever to win the prestigious award.
Brayshaw was a runaway winner of the award for the best performed Fremantle or West Coast player this season as judged by ABC Sport’s Grandstand AFL experts.
The 21-year-old received 30 votes after averaging more than 28 disposals in his 20 games.
Brayshaw joined Fremantle skipper Nat Fyfe, who was also 21 when he won the award in 2013, as the second youngest to earn the honour, with Paul Hasleby the youngest as a 19-year-old back in 2000.
The 2017 No.2 draft pick received votes in 12 games and grabbed the maximum 3 votes in six of those outings to finish well clear of veteran teammate David Mundy (22 votes) and West Coast midfielder Dom Sheed (19).
Brayshaw said it was a huge thrill to see his name on the Geoff Christian Medal honour roll alongside the likes of Fremantle great Matthew Pavlich, as well as Brownlow medallists Fyfe, Chris Judd, Ben Cousins and Lachie Neale.
"It's an amazing list to be a part of," Brayshaw told ABC Grandstand.
"I thought this season, for me, was another step forward but it probably wasn't the result we were looking for as a team.
"It was the first time we've been fighting it out towards the end of the season since I've been here, so I'm really happy with the year."
More from Brayshaw: Who fills Cerra's role?
Brayshaw said having more time in the midfield helped him take his game to another level in 2021, averaging 28 disposals, just under four clearances and five tackles through his 20 appearances.
"There was a lot more responsibility thrown my way this year," Brayshaw said.
"In previous years, I've probably played other roles outside of the midfield, flipping onto a wing, going forward for a little bit.
"This year I was given a fair opportunity in there to really stamp my authority and have that consistency, playing in that same role every week.
"The guys around me really helped, Sean Darcy took a massive step this year being included in the squad of 40 for the All Australian. Having him tap it down my throat as well really helps."
The medal was established in recognition of Geoff Christian, a valued member of ABC Radio's Sports Talk program for a period of 14 years prior to his death in November 1998.
Christian served as chief football writer of The West Australian from 1961 to 1998 and was posthumously inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame.
The votes are cast on a 3-2-1 basis by ABC Radio’s expert commentators at the conclusion of each game in which the WA teams compete throughout the home and away season.
2021 Geoff Christian Medal Top 10
Andrew Brayshaw (F) 30
David Mundy (F) 22
Dom Sheed (WC) 19
Sean Darcy (F), Andrew Gaff (WC) 17
Nat Fyfe (F), Tim Kelly (WC) 15
Caleb Serong (F) 14
Nic Naitanui (WC) 12
Jack Darling (WC) 11
Honour Board
1999 Adrian Fletcher (Fremantle)
2000 Paul Hasleby (Fremantle) & Troy Cook (Fremantle)
2001 Ben Cousins (West Coast)
2002 Matthew Pavlich (Fremantle)
2003 Peter Bell (Fremantle)
2004 Paul Hasleby (Fremantle 2nd)
2005 Matthew Pavlich (Fremantle 2nd)
2006 Chris Judd (West Coast)
2007 Daniel Kerr (West Coast)
2008 Matthew Pavlich (Fremantle 3rd)
2009 Aaron Sandilands (Fremantle)
2010 Beau Waters (West Coast)
2011 Matthew Priddis (West Coast)
2012 Daniel Kerr (West Coast 2nd)
2013 Nat Fyfe (Fremantle)
2014 Matthew Priddis (West Coast 2nd)
2015 Nat Fyfe (Fremantle 2nd)
2016 Lachie Neale (Fremantle)
2017 Nat Fyfe (Fremantle 3rd)
2018 Lachie Neale (Fremantle 2nd)
2019 Nat Fyfe (Fremantle 4th)
2020 Nat Fyfe (Fremantle 5th)
2021 Andrew Brayshaw (Fremantle)
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