Season in short:
If there was any concern that Jack Macrae may suffer from second year blues, the 20-year-old midfielder comfortably shelved that notion in 2014.
After a debut year that saw Macrae claim the Chris Grant Best First Year Player Award, the top-10 draft pick has excelled in his second year, leading the Club for disposals, marks and finishing runner-up to Tom Liberatore in the Sutton Medal.
Macrae played 13 games in his debut year and earned a NAB AFL Rising Star nomination.
In his second season, the 20-year-old missed one game and earned plaudits as a genuine, blue-chip ball magnet.
Patrick Dangerfield, Joel Selwood, Dane Swan, Dan Hannebery Bryce Gibbs – just some of the AFL’s midfield elite that Macrae acquired more ball than in season 2014.
On 15 occasions Macrae amassed 25 or more possessions, becoming the youngest AFL player to collect 40 or more disposals in a game with his inspired 43-touch, two goal performance in the Dogs’ 28-point victory over the Suns.
The stat that mattered:
Macrae ranked ninth in the league for effective disposals per game in 2014, going at 73.1% efficiency.
What they said:
“I was probably thinking about playing as many games as I could, staying not injured, and getting some consistency but I hit some good early form and just tried to hold that for the end of the year. I managed to play some good footy and looking back it’s been a pretty enjoyable year.” – Jack Macrae following the Charles Sutton Medal.
