Five-time premiership player Dermott Brereton has drawn parallels between St Kilda young gun Mitch Owens and two-time Brownlow Medallist Nat Fyfe.
Owens is coming off a star-making 2023, finishing fourth in the Rising Star and establishing himself as the future of the Saints.
With the 20-year-old immediately becoming one of most effective contested possession players in the AFL, Brereton is blown away by how high Owens’ ceiling can be.
“He’s a modern day, slightly different-looking version of course of Nat Fyfe,” he told SEN’s The Run Home.
“He is really powerful and strong in the contest in the middle of the ground.” Brereton went on to dismiss any suggestion that Owens should be pigeonholed as a full-time key forward.
“No (he’s not a key forward), he’s a hybrid forward who can play as a midfielder,” he said.
“You can even throw him as a jumping ruckman but he’s that second or third-string key forward if he wants to be.”
With Owens making such a statement in 2023, finishing fourth in St Kilda’s best and fairest, Brereton isn’t even considering him as a breakout season candidate.
“I couldn’t say he’s going to have a breakout year, he’s already broken out,” he said.
“Everybody knows how good he is, he’s a star.”
Owens played 23 games last season, averaging 15 disposals and booting a total of 26 goals.
