Budding young star, Tanner Bruhn played a crucial role for Geelong in their win over Melbourne, showing all his class against one of the best midfield groups in the AFL.

Often opposed to Jack Viney and Christian Petracca, Bruhn played arguably his best game in the blue and white picking up 19-disposals and six-clearances while also adding two important goals.

After crossing over to the Cats during last year’s trade period, Bruhn has settled in nicely at Geelong featuring in their last eight games while continuing to develop his midfield craft.

Bruhn said he has worked into the season well, learning from some of Geelong’s more experienced players to help grow his game.

"I think I've been building the last month,” Bruhn said. 

“It was a full team effort and we know that's what it takes week in and week out. From a personal standpoint, I thought I was able to play my role and have an impact on the night.

"I'm just trying to build week in and week out, I've got some great support from a lot of the older players. 

"With Dangerfield and Guthrie out at the minute they have been really helping me from the sidelines.” 

An underrated aspect of Bruhn’s game has been his ability to hit the scoreboard, kicking eight-goals so far this season including two vital majors against Melbourne. 

Bruhn’s last goal capped off a brilliant last quarter charge from the Cats, that saw them boot six unanswered goals to close out an important victory over the Demons. 

With a crucial stretch of games in front of the Cats, Bruhn said the mentality of the playing group will hold them in good stead heading towards finals. 

"There is so much confidence and belief in this group, that on any given night we can go out and match it with the best teams,” Bruhn said. 

“That last quarter we all stood up and we were all in for the fight, I’m really happy for the boys and it was a great win.

"We have had a pretty inconsistent year but if you look at most games, we have been right in it and given ourselves chances to win. 

We've proven that our best footy is up there with the best, it's just about stacking as many wins as we can now leading into finals." 

Averaging 15-disposals and nearly five-tackles per game, Bruhn has become a staple of the Geelong midfield and will be pivotal across the back half of the 2023 season.