The rapid emergence of Josh Dunkley as a midfield star might have come as a surprise to some.
But certainly not to his Western Bulldogs teammates.
The 22-year-old has taken the competition by storm in 2019.
Dunkley is averaging 27.1 disposals per match across the season, a number which jumps to 32.5 over the past 10 rounds.
He is rated as elite when it comes to contested ball-winning, clearances and tackles, and is the seventh-highest rated player in the Herald SunSuperCoach competition.
And his impact has been felt by his teammates.
“Dunks has been outstanding for us all year,” defender Hayden Crozier told SEN’s Time On.
“It comes as no surprise to us, because we see day-in, day-out how much work he puts into it and how much he tries to better his craft.
“The effect he has on our group not only offensively but defensively as well (is huge).
“There’s a lot of things you can’t really pick up on TV that he does for the team that we value extremely highly. Obviously what you can see on TV is his clearance ability, his tackling around the ball which was fantastic all night, and his ability to break free of the contest.
“I hope he can continue that form for the rest of the season.”
