A sixth-placed Carji Greeves medal finish capped off an outstanding year in the hoops for Brad Close.
It’s been a remarkable ride for the 23-year-old, rising from a mature age rookie draftee to the 2020 Geelong Best Young Player and now a top ten best and fairest placer.
The sleeved-Cat’s clean pair of hands and unselfishness around goal became a feature in 22 games for Geelong this season.
With plenty of footy ahead of him, Geelong has found a long-term forward half fixture.
Season Averages
Disposals: 13.2 (above average for forward)
Goals: 0.7 (6th at Geelong)
Pressure Acts: 18.2 (3rd at Geelong)
Tackles: 3.3 (7th at Geelong)
Tackles Inside 50: 1.2 (3rd at Geelong)
Goal Assists: 0.5 (9th at Geelong)
Standout Moment
Dougal Howard never heard the Closer coming.
With 15 minutes remaining on the clock and the Cats hanging onto an 11-point lead in Round 9, Brad Close put it beyond doubt with his tackle and checkside finish from deep in the pocket.
Stats File
Brad Close’s gut busting efforts add another dimension to his clean hands and vision.
The slightly-built Cat gets it done across all categories when it comes to both speed and distance.
Close recorded the three best efforts this season for the Cats when it came to sprints.
A sprint is defined as a speed of 24 km/h or more by the Telstra Tracker, and the second-year Cat recorded 29, 28 and 28 of these in Rounds 5, 9 and 15.
Close also recorded the fifth furthest distance in a match at 16.1km and fifth fastest average running speed in defence.
Game-Breaking Performance
In just his fourth outing of the season, Brad Close delivered in the harbour city.
Two third-term goals took it right up to the Swans, while the fleet-footed forward also found the time to dish off a goal assist and collect 18 disposals.
The Quote
Brad Close knows his role.
The selfless forward’s team-first mentality was a big contributor in his Carji Greeves medal placing, an award which focuses on how well each individual player fills their role.
“I base my game off the things that I can control, like energy and pressure and things like that,” Close said earlier this year.
