Angus Brayshaw

Brayshaw had a reduced workload in the 2017 pre-season after injuring his calf in January and played the first two matches of the AFL season before he was omitted from the senior side for the round three match against Geelong at Etihad Stadium. AFL Media reporter, Ben Guthrie, noted the calf injury was a key reason for his slow start to the season and he was yet to live up to his potential due to persistent injuries throughout his early career. Former Melbourne coach, Paul Roos, noted that although the public hadn't seen Brayshaw's best yet, he was Melbourne's most exciting prospect for 2017. In late April playing in the VFL, he received his third concussion in twelve months after receiving a bump from North Ballarat player, Hayden Walters. There were suggestions by the media that the multiple concussions in a short period of time would prematurely end his AFL career, however, these claims were quickly dismissed by Melbourne with head of football, Josh Mahoney, saying it was only a minor concussion.

Brayshaw was highly rated by the AFL players heading into the 2016 season whereby he was named the second best player in the league recruited from the 2014 and 2015 drafts. In the opening match of the 2016 NAB Challenge against Port Adelaide, he injured his knee five seconds into the match after a tackle from Port Adelaide midfielder, Hamish Hartlett, and the injury forced him to miss the remainder of the pre-season competition. In a bid to play in the round one match against Greater Western Sydney, he played for Casey in a VFL practice match where he recorded seventeen disposals and a goal. He ultimately missed the round one win against Greater Western Sydney and played his first AFL match for the season in round two in the thirteen point loss against Essendon at the Melbourne Cricket Ground where he recorded nine disposals. He was omitted the next week for the match against North Melbourne at Blundstone Arena due to looking "tired".

Brayshaw played top-level football early when he played in the TAC Cup for the Sandringham Dragons as a bottom-aged player, in addition to representing Victoria at under 16 level, and continued to represent the state which culminated in selection for Vic Metro in the 2014 AFL Under 18 Championships. His achievements at junior level included the most valuable player award at state level, the best on ground academy player, and selection in the All-Australian team and TAC Cup team of the year. He was recruited by Melbourne with the third overall selection in the 2014 AFL draft and he made his debut during the 2015 season, resulting in a fifth-place finish in the AFL Rising Star award.

Playing for the Sandringham Dragons in the TAC Cup in 2014, Brayshaw was regarded as one of the top draft prospects for the 2014 AFL draft and was appointed captain of Sandringham. He earned mid-year state honours through selection for Vic Metro in the Under 18 Championships and was rewarded with All-Australian selection as a half-back flanker. In addition, his efforts in the TAC Cup saw him secure a spot in the team of the year as a ruck-rover.

Brayshaw was linked to the Melbourne Football Club in the weeks leading to the draft and was ultimately recruited by the club with their second selection and third overall in the 2014 national draft. He was predicted to make a round one debut after strong performances with Melbourne's affiliate team, the Casey Scorpions, in Victorian Football League (VFL) practice matches, despite not featuring for Melbourne in the NAB Challenge. He debuted in the twenty-six point win against Gold Coast at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in round one and laid a match-high nine tackles before being substituted off in the fourth quarter. After a string of consistent performances, he was awarded the round ten nomination for the Rising Star for his efforts in the annual Queen's Birthday Clash against Collingwood, in which he recorded eighteen disposals, six tackles, seven inside-50s, four goal assists, and a goal. His performance was praised by former Melbourne captain, Garry Lyon, and he noted that Brayshaw would be a "200-gamer and leader of the Demons."

He played five matches as a bottom-aged player in the TAC Cup for the Sandringham Dragons in 2013 and after being ineligible for the 2013 AFL draft by missing the age cut-off date by nine days, Brayshaw spent 2014 competing in junior competitions and studying a double degree in commerce and engineering at Monash University. He was selected as part of the level two squad in the 2013 intake for the AIS-AFL Academy and travelled to Europe for two weeks in April 2014 with a 31-man squad. At the start of the tour, Brayshaw was awarded the MCC Chairman's Medal as the best academy player after competing in a match against Collingwood's Victorian Football League (VFL) side at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Brayshaw attended Haileybury College and played his junior football with the Hampton Rovers Football Club. He was recognised as an elite talent at a young age when he received a scholarship with the Australian Institute of Sport through the AIS-AFL Academy as part of their level one squad in the 2012 intake. In the same year, he was selected to play with Vic Metro in the under 16 championships and was awarded the most valuable player for Vic Metro.

Angus Brayshaw (born 9 January 1996) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). A midfielder, 1.87 metres (6 ft 2 in) tall and weighing 87 kilograms (192 lb), Brayshaw is capable of contributing as both an inside and outside midfielder. He has strong family connections in Australian sport whereby his father, Mark Brayshaw, is a former North Melbourne player and the current AFL Coaches' Association Chief Executive Officer, his uncle, James Brayshaw, is a former state cricketer, former North Melbourne chairman and a sport media personality, and his grandfather, Ian Brayshaw, is a former state cricketer and footballer with the Claremont Football Club.