There was little to cheer about for Fremantle in round 19 of the 2019 season, falling to a 47-point loss to the Western Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium.
But one player stood up with Fremantle up against it, delivering 26 disposals and three goals.
That player was 19-year-old Andrew Brayshaw, who made the most of the opportunities he had up forward and through the midfield.
It’s an effort that he hopes he can replicate in 2020 as he looks to get more time as a midfielder.
“I didn’t mind going forward a little bit but I think predominantly, the midfield is the spot for me and I’m going to continue to try and grow in that position,” Brayshaw said.
“Against the Western Bulldogs, I kicked a few goals but I thought I was able to have a really big impact playing through the middle.”
Brayshaw enjoying footy more than ever
Brayshaw said he feels lucky to have some talented mentors to turn to for advice about growing as a football player.
“There are two people that I have spoken to about my development - Nat Fyfe and my brother Angus,” Brayshaw said.
“It’s really about growth in the first few years, wrapping your head around the concepts of the team game style and game plan.
“After that, it’s about working on your craft. There’s always little bits and pieces that you can improve on.
“I was really happy with my first year, it obviously got cut short a bit through injury, so to play 22 games this year was really good and it’s another platform that I’m going to try and build from.”
Brayshaw said that Fremantle are in a position to grow quickly under a new coach.
“We’ll see what their coaching style is going to be like but next year, hopefully, we can get the backs feeding to the mids a bit more and the mids will be hitting up the forwards,” Brayshaw said.
“There’s definitely a platform to build from and when we have our best team, we’re a very good side.
“The win against Geelong, I think that set a standard for the boys. We had a lot of injuries and the club had a lot of pressure put on it externally and we brought the pressure, won the ball and I think it was probably one of our best games for the year.”
