I dunno, I think it's really hard to assess where any of our inexperienced players are at right now, there are so many factors at play that they can't control.
It's not just the injury list, it's the rolling nature of the injury list across all lines on the field. There's been zero consistency in personnel, and it's ripped team cohesion and the gameplan to shreds. For an inexperienced player, I reckon it'd almost be like fronting up for a completely new team each week. It takes weeks of playing together at the level to build an understanding with your teammates, to know when you can sag off, to know who's going to go for the mark, to know where the ball is likely to drop, etc etc. There's a reason why you don't see coaches bringing 5 kids into the team at once (or even swinging the axe heavily during the season very often). At the elite level, team cohesion is paramount.
And then there's the domino effect of inexperience and lack of senior support across the ground. The midfield gets smashed, so forwards get worse delivery. The forwards are inexperienced, so when the ball does get there, opportunities aren't maximised. The ball rebounds quickly, so the defeneders are under the pump. And that's on top of all the errors that you'd usually expect from guys who haven't played a season in the seniors yet, that you'd usually just chalk up as a learning experience.
And that's before we even talk about players being forced to play out of position. Or the impact lack of footy during the covid years had on their development. Or the fact that guys with niggles who might usually have been rested to get right simply can't be anymore due to lack of physically sound replacements.
These young men are playing in an environment that you rarely see at AFL level, and the deck is stacked against them. I'm tempering my expectations accordingly.
Back on topic, I reckon Brown will be just fine.
