Former Melbourne captain Garry Lyon is perplexed with his old side and in particular Angus Brayshaw.
The midfielder has been among the side’s best players this year, but is spending a lot of time on the bench.
Brayshaw spent 63 of 94 minutes versus Geelong on the ground, 69 of 100 minutes versus Carlton and 68 of 96 minutes versus West Coast.
This is significantly below what an average midfielder would spend on the ground. For example, Mitch Duncan played 81 minutes and Clayton Oliver played 79 in the same game.
“I went and did some homework on it. It’s got me stuffed why, there may be a reason, but Angus Brayshaw played 67 per cent of the game,” Lyon told SEN Breakfast.
“He kicked two goals, had 15 touches and laid five tackles.
“The only players at Melbourne who played less than him were Aaron vandenBerg and Mitch Hannan and they were both coming into the team for the first time off layoffs.
“The only other players (who played less) were Tom Atkins and Tom Stewart who hurt himself. Jack Steven played 70 per cent of the game.
"It’s got me absolutely flummoxed as to why he doesn’t play more time and why he sits on the bench as much as he does.
“I don’t think he’s got an issue with his tank, not that I know of.”