Melbourne premiership player Angus Brayshaw has told teammates of his decision to retire, effective immediately.
Brayshaw told those within the Demons' inner sanctum on Thursdya morning that he had played his last game, with routine battles with concussion given as the reason for the 28-year-old's premature retirement.
Across the course of his nine-year career in red and blue, the Sandringham Dragons product suffered umpteen head knocks, leading the defensive-minded midfielder to wear a helmet for the bulk of his playing days.
The most recent of Brayshaw's collisions came during Melbourne's qualifying final loss to Collingwood last September when the Demon came off worse for wear in a highly contentious clash with his former Hampton Rovers teammate and current Pies hard-nut Brayden Maynard.
Brayshaw was given a precautionary scan on his brain in the wake of the Maynard hit, with the recent results seeing the midfielder instructed to retire by medical professionals.
โI am devastated that I can no longer play the game that I love, but I respect the verdict of the medical professionals, and the importance of putting my health before my career,โ Brayshaw told Melbourne Media.
โI am really proud of what I have achieved over the past decade. I have been able to live out my childhood dream and while it's been cut short, I am forever grateful to everyone who has been involved.
โI want to especially thank my teammates, my coaches and the staff at the Melbourne Football Club, for all they have done for me over the years. I also want to thank my family and my partner Danielle for their endless support. To every member and fan, thank you for your incredible support over the journey.
โConcussion is a massive issue facing our game. I hope from this, a terrible result for me personally, can come some positive outcomes for the future of player safety.โ
While his AFL career will be capped at 167 games, Brayshaw still has a further five seasons to run on his deal with the Demons after inking a contract extension with the club in 2022.
Reports of Brayshaw's decision to call time on his career come a fortnight before Melbourne's Opening Round clash against Sydney at the SCG on Thursday, March 7.
The late list change comes less than 48 hours after presently suspended Demon Joel Smith was accused of trafficking cocaine.
As the fiance to late footy great Danny Frawley's daughter, Danielle, Brayshaw will doubtlessly be aware of how the intimate trauma head injuries sustained on the footy field is felt.
Frawley, a former St Kilda captain and Victorian state representative, passed away in September 2019 following a single-car collision in Millbrook, Victoria.
Posthumous studies of Frawley's brain showed that the beloved member of the footballing community had state two chronic traumatic encephalopathy.
After being selected by Melbourne with the 3rd Pick of the 2014 AFL Draft, Brayshaw became the second member of his family to play elite-level football after his father, Mark, represented North Melbourne on 32 occasions between 1990 and 1992.
In the coming years, both Angus and Mark would be joined by the former's older and younger siblings, with Hamish and Andrew representing West Coast and Fremantle respectively.
