There was a two-week window to start last season in which Fremantle star Andrew Brayshaw was considered by master coach Alastair Clarkson to be the best player in the AFL.
The midfielder was emerging as an elite talent at the start of his fourth season and the taggers were arriving, with Clarkson among those to blunt Brayshaw when he deployed Hawthorn midfielder James Worpel in a run-with role in round four.
As he worked through the opposition attention, Brayshaw was able to play a handful more outstanding games in a season that saw him finish third in Fremantle's club champion award.
But 2022 is shaping as the season in which the window that caught Clarkson's attention opens for longer and the taggers find themselves much less effective against the hard-working Freo Docker.
"He looks big, he looks strong, and he looks like he's ready to take over this year," Fremantle ruckman Sean Darcy told AFL.com.au.
"He's changed a lot. It's been a real focus of Andy's to put on some muscle and put on some size to go against the bigger mids of the competition.
"He's leading the way for us young guys to be less of a young group and more of a grown men group."
While Brayshaw has made excellent progress as an inside midfielder, Darcy said he had so far worked differently with the 185cm onballer when compared to his big-bodied teammates, focusing on getting the ball to space at stoppages so Brayshaw could use his speed and agility.
With his added size this year, Darcy expected the 22-year-old would have more stoppage tricks and be able to use his strength in the manner of Nathan Fyfe and David Mundy.
"He'll just hold his position and be able to wrestle with opponents," the 2021 Doig medallist said.
"You look at players like Nathan and Dave, they're those bigger-sized mids who don't get pushed off the contest, are strong in the tackle, and can fend off and take one or two tackles and feed it out to the running players.
"It's just going to add another string to his bow, and he's already got a few strings."
Brayshaw gave a glimpse of his absolute best in round 20 last season against Richmond when he won a career-high 39 disposals and eight clearances, the final two of which helped save the game deep in the Dockers' defence.
It was a performance that showcased Brayshaw's on-field leadership, Darcy said, and his desire to take responsibility and be "the man" when the game was on the line.
Off the field, Darcy jokes that his teammate is "Mr Perfect" before highlighting the important role he has at Fremantle as a "connector" of the Club's young players and important senior group.
It's a word that other Freo players use to describe how the Sandringham product contributes to the dynamic at Fremantle heading into the new season.
"He's a bit of a social butterfly and he likes getting around to different groups and he can really connect and communicate with different groups effectively," says Mundy, who has played a key role in developing and mentoring Freo's young midfielders.
"He's an exceptional young man with a really mature head on his shoulders and he's ready to take it (the competition) by storm."
Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir encouraged Brayshaw early last year to embrace the tags he received as a "badge of honour", knowing it was a phase he would need to work through.
He was right, and the physical attention Brayshaw first encountered in round three returned in a big way in round 21, seven days after his starring role against Richmond, with Brisbane midfielder Jarrod Berry delivering a four-quarter physical buffeting.
"As you step up the rungs of being an elite AFL player, that’s what you have to deal with and learn from and embrace," Longmuir said after his important midfielder persisted against the Lions to finish with 25 disposals.
On the eve of the new season, the coach was ready to see Brayshaw's next progression.
"We saw his best last year and how good that is," Longmuir told AFL.com.au.
"His challenge now is to bring his best more often and against any opposition, no matter how much attention he gets."
